ANTARCTICA  – SUITE FOR GUITAR AND ORCHESTRA
Orchestration – 2222 4230 perc(2),timp,harp,strings, solo guitar (amplified)
Duration – 22:00
Score – A4 $55 + GST / A3 $110 + GST
Guitar part $50+GST
For score and part purchase / hire, please view the print music catalogue or click here to email your order

When the Australian Broadcasting Corporation invited me to write a guitar concerto for John Williams and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as part of the ABC’s 60th birthday celebration a year or so after completing the film, I seized the opportunity to explore some of my original ideas for the film in the form of a suite for guitar and orchestra. The suite, as heard here, is reworked from the film score; it also incorporates ideas developed during the initial writing process but not included in the film. It is in four movements, the last comprising two sections joined by a short cadenza.
1. The Last Place on Earth
The music begins at an aerial shot of the ice cap, taken at midnight. Due to the midnight sun, it is in full daylight.
2. Wooden Ships
The first explorers came in wooden ships.
3. Penguin Ballet
Emperor penguins are seen as never before by human eyes in a kind of ballet underneath the ice cap. They leave the water at fantastic speeds through a hole in the ice to avoid being eaten by leopard seals.
4. The Ice Core / Finale
The drilling of an ice core by Antarctic scientists reveals recent changes in the earths’ atmosphere. The hole in the ozone layer was first discovered here. The Antarctic treaty was signed just as the film was being completed, providing an optimistic note on which to finish – as reflected in the finale.
Antarctica – Suite for Guitar & Orchestra was commissioned with financial assistance from the Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council.
It is dedicated to John Williams & John Weiley.