This album begins a series of first recordings of works for horn by Australian composers, offering a vivid cross-section of the musical voices and stylistic currents that shaped the twentieth century. Featuring music by Septimus Kelly, George Marshall-Hall, Margaret Sutherland, Don Banks and Peter Sculthorpe, it traces a lineage of Australian composition that has largely remained unheard.

The origins of this project reach back to my years living in Europe in my twenties and thirties. During that time, I became increasingly aware of an internal divide: one part of me was firmly anchored in Australia, sustained by a deep sense of place and belonging, and the other was defined by my professional identity as a classical hornplayer. Australian music had played only a minor role in my musical upbringing, and I felt that absence keenly. Returning home, I felt a strong desire to address it – to perform Australian works, to understand the history of the horn in my own country, and thus to reconcile these two facets of my identity.

The search for repertoire required extensive research, ultimately culminating in my Ph.D., Making the French Horn Australian, and to the discovery of a rich but largely overlooked repertoire for the instrument. The pieces recorded here represent only a selection of the remarkable works I uncovered. By bringing them to light, I hope to contribute to the continuity of the Australian musical heritage and to celebrate the creativity of composers who lived, worked or found their artistic roots on this continent.