Commissioned by Arts in the Valley to mark Peter Sculthorpe's 80th birthday
First performance by the Goldner Quartet, Kangaroo Valley Golf and Country Resort, Kangaroo Valley, NSW, 3 May 2009
Sculthorpe Dreaming (2009)
2 minutes
for string quartet
Chamber music
Ford’s chamber music includes six string quartets, and numerous works for mixed ensemble, some involving piano.
Please click work titles for more information and resources (audio, sheet music, program note etc.) about individual works in this category.
Chorales from an Ox Life (2007-09)
9 minutes
for viola, cello and double bass
A version of Chorales from an Ox Life for viola and double bass
First performance by Christa Jardine (viola), Richard Vaudrey (cello) and Douglas Rutherford (bass), Australian National Academy of Music, Melbourne, 23 April 2009
A Reel, a Fling and a Ghostly Galliard (String Quartet No 2) (2006)
8 minutes
Commissioned by the Grainger Quartet for its inaugural series of concerts in October 2006. The commission was generously funded by Pamela Pearce and Wally Patterson.
First performance by the Grainger Quartet, Vebrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney, 2005
Oma kodu (2006)
9 minutes
for clarinet in A and string quartet
Commissioned by Colin Gray and Jenny Kena
First performed by Catherine McCorkill (clarinet), Australia Ensemble, Sir John Clancy Auditorium, University of New South Wales, Sydney 19 May 2007
Sad Jigs (2005)
7 minutes
for string quintet
2 violins, viola, cello and double bass.
This piece may also be played by a string orchestra.
Commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra through Symphony Australia with funds from the Australia Council for the Arts
First performance by Fellows of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium, 5 July 2005
After the Ball Was Over (2003)
6 minutes
for percussion quartet
Five waltzes from The Waltz Book arranged for tuned percussion
Tales of the Supernatural (2002)
31 mins
folksongs for voice and string quartet
1. Niin mina neitonen -- 2. The great silkie of Sules Skerry -- 3. Den fortrollade barnafoderskan -- 4. The Bay of Biscay -- 5. The house carpenter -- 6. The unquiet grave -- 7. Niin minä neitonen.
Commissioned by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust
First performance by Jane Edwards and the Australian String Quartet, Elder Hall, University of Adelaide, 5 March 2004
Chamber Concerto No 4 (2002)
13 minutes
for flute (= piccolo), clarinet (=bass clarinet), piano and string quartet
1. Chacony
2. Salsa
Commissioned by the University of New South Wales for the Australia Ensemble
First performance by the Australia Ensemble, Sir John Clancy Auditorium, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 18 October 2003
Hymn to the Sun (1999)
2 minutes
for clarinet, celesta and harp
After Mesomedes of Crete (c. 140 CE)
First performance by Peter Jenkin (clarinet), Daryl Pratt (celesta) and Alice Giles (harp), Kowmung Music Festival, Abercrombie Caves, NSW 27 March 1999
Estampie (1999)
2 minutes
for clarinet, darabouka, harp and sting quartet
Arrangement of 13th-century English estampie
First performance by Kowmung Music Festival Ensemble, Kowmung Music Festival, Abercrombie Caves, NSW, 27 March 1999