The Feud Suite

Music of Sally Greenaway
Commissioned by Em Cooper

The Feud Suite is a collection of seven short movements of music separated by vivid poetry. The music for this suite was originally composed for an original film sound track for the short film The Nest directed by Em Cooper (London, UK). Upon returning to Canberra, I wanted to re-work the music score into a suite for concert hall and collaborated with Canberra writer Tanya Kiermaier, whose poetry harks poignantly towards the darker side of Australia's Montague Island history, with the following evocative poetry:

...Through the bitterness of dark, the light circles,
deep and silent as the universe.
while wind flaps and hums through snarls of kikuyu
whips round the children’s graves
and flings itself out into the spreadeagled ocean...

Category: Chamber: Trio to Large Ensemble; Dramatic Music; Orchestral, Wind Symphony, Brass Band; String instruments;
Instrumentation: Quintet: String Quartet, Piano + Narrator (opt. Soprano): The poetry narration may be performed by a Soprano as one of the movements has an optional vocalise descant for soprano. Scored to work equally well for string quartet (or opt. quintet with optional Double Bass) or String Orchestra.
Year: 2014
Work duration: 7min
Difficulty/level: Medium-Advanced
Movement list:
1. Wind, Sky, Shape Shifting Clouds
2. Dischod in Conversation
3. Unfeather Your Soul
4. On The Edge
5. Snarls of Kikuyu
6. The Children's Graves
Commissioned by: Em Cooper (UK) for her short film The Nest
Contact Sally
Category: Chamber: Trio to Large Ensemble; Dramatic Music; Orchestral, Wind Symphony, Brass Band;
Instrumentation: String Orchestra, Piano, Narrator (opt. Soprano): The poetry narration may be performed by a Soprano as one of the movements has an optional vocalise descant for soprano. Scored to work equally well for string quartet (or opt. quintet with optional Double Bass) or String Orchestra.
Year: 2014
Work duration: 7min
Difficulty/level: Medium-Advanced
Movement list:
1. Wind, Sky, Shape Shifting Clouds
2. Dischod in Conversation
3. Unfeather Your Soul
4. On The Edge
5. Snarls of Kikuyu
6. The Children's Graves
Contact Sally

Versions of this work appear in these recordings

Aubade & Nocturne
Sally Greenaway
Released 2014

Purchase CD, download or stream

Beautiful music delivered to your inbox!


Be the first to know about new music and receive exclusive content.

Become a 'friend' of Australian composer Sally Greenaway by joining her Composer's Circle.

Join the Composer's Circle