Ships Without a Name (Scene 3) performance at the City Recital Hall 10 July 2011

This performance was recorded during the Flagship Recital at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney, on 10 July 2011 celebrating the Centenary of the Royal Australian Navy. The narrator is Commander Phillip Anderson and the conductor is Lieutenant Commander Paul Cottier. Ships Without a Name was composed in 2009 by Lieutenant Matthew Klohs at the request of the Director of Music to tell the story of AE1 and AE2, Australia's first submarines. AE1 disappeared without a trace off the coast of New Guinea in 1914 and all her crew were lost. The opening movement is quite staid and reflective in style, and describes this great mystery and tragic loss of life by using motifs from the Naval Hymn Eternal Father and the Australian folksong Moreton Bay. The second movement is majestic in style yet full of tension, and takes the listener on a journey with AE2 and her crew through the entrance to the Dardanelles, the terrifying minefield, and ultimately the loss of the submarine. The musical conclusion reflects the loss of some of our greatest maritime pioneers, whose little known story deserves a higher place in the hearts and minds of the Australian people.