I. Sereno

II. Molto Animato

Chorale and Ecstatic Dance presents an immediately attractive surface to the listener. The first movement, simple, austere and drone-based, inflects mediaeval European church modes with South East Asian colours. The second, Ecstatic Dance, originated as a duo for flutes which Edwards contributed to a garland of miniatures by Australian composers in celebration of Peter Sculthorpe’s 50^th birthday in 1979. A revised and expanded version was later incorporated into Ecstatic Dances (1990), composed for the flautist Geoffrey Collins.

Radiant and insistently melodic, as befits its original celebratory function, Ecstatic Dance subtly blends pentatonic modes with sparkling cross rhythms and has become one of Edwards’ most popular compositions. An orchestral arrangement can be found in volume 13 of the Hush Music Foundation’s collection of music on CD, sales of which benefit Australian children’s hospitals.

Bernard Rofe