Commissioned by Robert Nairn with funds from the Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council
First performance by Robert Nairn, St Lawrence Arts Centre, Sydney, 9 JUne 1996
Program note
This piece might be thought of as a homage to Bing Crosby, the singer who first perfected the art of singing quietly, using a microphone to convey the intimacy of his voice. Dark Side does much the same. The double bass effects an intense whispering in its lowest range, and the sound is amplified so as to bring it as close as possible to the audience. Towards the end of the piece, the bass suddenly bursts into a strident chant in its upper register. Finding the balance between these two contrasting parts of the piece proved difficult and after its first performance Dark Side was withdrawn and substantially revised.
The piece was commissioned by Rob Nairn, with funds from the Music Board of the Australia Council, and he gave both the first performance (in Sydney) and the first performance of the revised version (at Penn State University in the USA).
AF