Dargaville: Lost Pages From the Book of Memory and Forgetting

In Tim Dargaville’s words:

“These 11 short pieces for string quartet mark the beginning of a collection entitled ‘The Book of Memory and Forgetting’. My reasons for wanting to make these works are complex. A significant impetus has been to remember the life of my mother, and to make sense of her last years in the strange landscape of dementia. Writing this work has also helped me accept the loss of her. Rosemary Dargaville (1934–2013) was feisty, loving and articulate. A lifelong campaigner for social justice, for her, language was a sophisticated tool for passionate expression of feelings and ideas. With the onset of dementia in the last decade of her life, Rosie gradually lost both her physical mobility and her mastery of words. Perceptions of past and present became increasingly intermingled and her language took strange and often beautiful forms, with sentences disappearing, or disparate thoughts connecting. In her last days Rosie’s need to make contact was expressed through wordless singing, and through interacting with ever-present recorded music. Music was the most important solace for her and music for strings was a particular favourite. These ‘Lost Pages’ are in remembrance of Rosie. Her life has inspired the creation of music that speaks in unexpected ways – abrupt changes in direction, familiar musical objects in unfamiliar circumstances, gradual disappearances of recognisable traits. Movements I - V of the set are distinct portraits while Movements VI - XI take these same pieces into states of dissolution and disappearance.I would very much like to thank the members of Ironwood for their commitment to this project, and for the care they have taken in bringing this score to life.”

Hear Tim’s interview with Andrew Ford on ‘The Music Show’, ABC.

Broadcast 1 Sep 2019