Terra Australis with Roll the Old Chariot Along

Australian Seattleite Bronwyn Edwards composed Terra Australis for the Cascadian Chorale in Bellevue, Washington. Subtitled "The search for the Great Southern Land a tale of adventure on the high seas," Terra Australis depicts at turns the mystery, the terror, the quest, and the determination experienced by the Western sailors who explored the oceans. It is scored for SSAATTBB divisi choir, with piano, percussion, and didgeridoo (if a didgeridoo player isn't available, a horn could be substituted). The latter plays in three crucial episodes: the prelude together with piano, a central improvised section marked "Call of the Great Southern Land," and the likewise improvisatory conclusion. But the singers are the ones who take the journey. Near the conclusion, the tenors and basses adopt the shanty "Roll the Old Chariot Along" while sopranos and altos swirl like the wind around them. The choir ends as it began: with mysterious dissonances of oceanic mist. The last word, as it were, is left to the didgeridoo -- to the ineffable call of humanity to explore.