THE EYES THAT TALK TO THE SKY
(Mata-ki-Te-rangi)

As the world opened up to
endeavour and discovery,
our aperture widening until
our view became infinite,

the painter saw it all unscathed –
the stone sentinels aloof,
their backs turned to the sea,
the sky resting on their shoulders.

Four bone fingers point against
a glowering Pacific storm,
wind stood still in sunlight,
presaging the echo boats

already approaching the horizon
with their deaths and wreckage,
the stone spirits standing apart
their proud heads high.

Julian Turner 2009

PROGRAMME NOTES
This piece was commissioned as part of the Greenwich International Festival of Early Music in November 2009.
The idea was of presenting new works for early instruments within innovative ensemble combinations.
The piece was to be inspired by any painting on display at the Queen’s House, Greenwich. Upon consideration I chose (Cook’s draughtsman) William Hodge’s A View of the Monuments of Easter Island (Rapanui) (1795). I sent this information to friend- and collaborator of my earlier piece Mynydd Hyddgen- to which he replied with a brand new poem within 24 hours.
This provided me with an immediate stimulus with which I wrote this piece, entirely by hand allowing ease of writing the graphics for the recorder. I deliberately left it in its original hand written form, the early musicians being quite used to illegible scores (though mine was not) and giving the piece my unchanged artistic voice.