Casuarina-salvagedDreaming

About

About the work

The casuarina tree (Casuarina obesa) has long been associated with memory, storytelling, and voice. The sound produced by wind moving through its distinctive needle-like foliage has often been described as haunted, mournful, and suggestive of a hidden language that carries traces of personal histories and lived experience.

Drawing upon field recordings of the tree, Casuarina-salvaged Dreaming explores the instability of memory and place. Wind, voices, birds, and instrumental samples move throughout the performance space while the ensemble responds to, imitates, and negotiates with the electronic sound world. The work reflects on the social significance of sound and its intimate relationship with landscape, while electronic processing introduces a sense of displacement.

Many of the electronic sound sources originate from the south-west of Western Australia, including excerpts from home videos, conversations with friends, urban and natural field recordings, recitations of local poetry, and other personal archival materials gathered during the compositional process. Some remain recognisable while others dissolve into the surrounding texture, yet each maintains a direct personal connection to home.

Composed while living abroad, the work reflects upon distance and memory. Although the composer is physically removed from the landscapes and sounds of home, the recordings function as fragile acts of preservation, salvaging a continuing connection to place.