In History, I attempted to compose a chronology of Western Classical Music. The piece begins with reflective plainsong and gains movement as it progresses through renaissance, baroque, classical, and romantic styles. From there, the piece transitions from late romanticism to the intensity of twentieth century modernism, emerging over the crest of a hill into driving minimalism and post-minimalism. A short coda summarises the entire journey of the piece and comes to a thumping conclusion.

More often than not, styles are conveyed through allusion rather than direct imitation. When composing this work, I attempted to inhabit each genre, writing music that was true to my own tastes and biases. My intention was never to compose a series of historically perfect episodes, but to create one flowing and cohesive work that I found emotionally and intellectually meaningful. History was commissioned by the Australia Ensemble as part of the 2022-23 Layton Emerging Composer Fellowship