Philip Norman Photo: Supplied
'Friendship Haiku' was commissioned by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra as part of Philip Norman's year as composer-in-residence with them, in 1992. It was written especially for a concert featuring the Japan Festival Choir who sang during that year's Festival of Japan. As the title suggests, it's a brief orchestral poem in three parts, and it was offered in a spirit of friendship to the Japanese visitors.
The composer says, "As with the poetic form of the haiku, the music is organised in three lines or sections of thought. Each is intended to reflect an aspect of New Zealand's view of Japan over the century-long friendship between the two countries. First, Japan was perceived as a distant and enigmatic society. Then came the period of Japanese imperialism, followed by today's Japan, a highly-organised and successful industrial society".
Recorded by RNZ Concert
