Alfred Hill —The Sacred Mountain

Alfred Hill was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1870 but spent his formative years in New Zealand. He began his musical studies on the cornet and later learned the violin and began composing at the age of twelve. He was sent to Leipzig at 15 to continue his studies on the violin and in composition. Here, he came into contact with many of the great masters including Grieg, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Strauss. Upon his return to the antipodes, he became a leading conductor and teacher. He eventually settled in Sydney where he was a founding professor at the Conservatorium of Music. He remained active as a violinist, violist and conductor. He retired in the 1930's and dedicated himself entirely to composition.

This work is included on the New Zealand Piano Quartet's NEW CD!

As a composer, he was prolific. Because he did not keep track of his works with Opus numbers, it is impossible to be sure of his total output. A catalogue compiled by Allan Stiles lists more than two thousand titles including ten operas, nine symphonies, four string orchestra symphonies, five concertos, overtures, tone poems, two ballets, film scores, marches and a wide range of choral and solo works. His Chamber music compositions include seventeen string quartets, and many miniatures for strings and piano.

Hill took a keen interest in traditional music from all over the world. He took a special interest in the music and legends of the Maori. His Cantata 'Hinemoa' was the first of many compositions dedicated to Maori culture. 'The Sacred Mountain' is associated with Tongariro and Tuwharetoa, one of the ancestors of the Taupo tribe.

It bears the inscription:

The Southwind
Blows cold from Tongariro's snows:
The echoes bear a message
From my long-departed one.

An old Maori Lament.

The Sacred Mountain is Hill's only known work for piano quartet and was completed in Sydney in 1932. He later scored the piece for orchestra, the form in which it has been recorded.

Taken from notes by Stiles Music Publications