Composer Natalie Hunt Photo: Reuben Lucas Photography
New Zealand composer Natalie Hunt (b 1985) tells us of the background to this work:
In 2016, I travelled overland from South Africa to Kenya, via Namibia , Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania. I had wanted to travel to Africa for a long time, to see a glimpse of its beauty and massive diversity was a wonderful experience. I look forward to returning very much. By coincidence, I was asked to write for Imani Winds while I was on the trip. Naturally, I jumped at the chance! I knew immediately that the piece would be inspired by what I was seeing. At first, I was puzzled though about how to proceed. How could I even begin to describe the rich culture, history, economic situations, political climates, community spirit, delicious food, wildlife, landscapes ...? And underneath all that I kept thinking 'but I have still only seen so little, in such a short amount of time!' And so, this work is as 'shapshots'.
There are three movements:
Namib reflects how I felt travelling through the desert in Namibia, where the landscape creeps and morphs, the rocks glow in the evening sun, and the night sky is brilliantly clear.
Mosi-oa-Tunya - the smoke which thunders - is in response to trying to see the elusive Victoria Falls behind their spray.
Delta Dreams reminds me of gliding through the Okavango Delta, which in turn reminds me of other deltas around the world, such as the Niger, Amazon and Mississippi.
Recorded 26 September 2017, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington by RNZ Concert.
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Graham Kennedy
