The beginnings and development of a New Zealand music: The life ...

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first composition period. In referring to S~phony No.1, he is quoted
in this article as saying:
movement long after the rest had taken shape".
"I had trouble with the form of the last
The description of the
symphony that this article offers concentrates on outlining the
traditional structures and key relationships of the work.
"The key is A minor. A figure which domina tes
the first movement is heard at the outset on
the trumpets. Woodwind and strings then develop
this in major tonalities. 'Cellos announce a
second subject and then a third, which are both
developed by the rest of the strings. After
that development and recapitulation go on
together.
The second movement is a rather formalised
Andante. The strings lead off and then there
is a woodwind theme which is restated by the
strings against antiphonal brass.
The last movement returns to the A minor mood
of the opening, but has a self-contained middle
section in the major with elements of rondo
form in it."4
However, for the purposes of stylistic analysis, it 1S immaterial
whether or not Lilburn paid close attention to structuring his works
formally.
The fact remains that his music of this period does show
evidence of construction on conventional principles of design and that
his chosen structures frequently owe allegiance to traditional classical
forms.
Small Structures: ternary forms
In many of Lilburn's smaller-proportioned compositions his
adherence to conventional principles of design and his use of traditional
structures can be clearly seen.
Take, for example, his Diversions for strings of 1947. All five
movements that comprise this work show evidence of use of ternary form.
All are constructed as a succession of phrase-by-phrase statementsoL
themes. Key relationships are important in that they highlight the
introduction of new material and signpost the differe~t sections within
each movement. There is little sign of development of material beyond
variation of a given phrase. Often a section of music is solely comprised
of a matching of two similar melodic phrases: the first of which moves
away from the tonic to cadence, whilst the second moves back to the tonic.
4 Lilburn's First Symphony. New Zealand Listener vol.24 no.619, 11 May
1951:9.