Instrumentation: 2 Flutes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Alto Saxophones, 2 Tenor Trombones, Vibraphone, Djembe, Maracas, Marimba, 2 Pianos, 2 Cellos

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Work started on ”larapuna“ (”lutruwita 2”) in August 2020. The palawa kani name ”larapuna“ encompasses the region of St. Helens and Bay of Fires on the east coast of Lutruwita.

I had been in contact with indigenous cultures from South America and participated in various ceremonies around this time. The chanting and drumming during those ceremonies impressed me and I imagined something similar taking place before the arrival of Europeans in the region of larapuna, hence the use of djembe and maracas. The melody at the beginning of the piece, first played on flutes, is suggestive of chanting.

The cipher ”larapuna“ (E-A-D-A-B-G-G-A) enters after almost 2 minutes, the material then segueing into a depiction of place and evocation of other times and places. Variously lyrical, celebratory, other-wordly, overall the experience conveys a journey difficult in words to relate but essentially joyful. The flute melodies return at the end, transformed and enriched by the ceremonial experience.

This work is the second in the series of ”lutruwita“ pieces and can, as with the others, be performed separately or as part of the whole.

I - lutruwita (nipaluna 2)
II - larapuna
III - tiagarra
IV - payriminpatatik