Symphony No. 1 (1991)
(Da Pacem Domine)

The slow, inward character of Symphony Da Pacem Domine is closer in mood to Edwards's sacred style. But the nature of its more public themes — sorrow and anxiety over the state of the world — and the influence of the plainsong fragment, give rise to music with a stronger arc and sense of direction. And a clear sense of yearning. The fusion of the hypnotic repetitions of his established style and influences from the European chant tradition brings his music comes closer to the sacred minimalism of recent European figures such as Arvo Part and John Tavener. And like Peter Sculthorpe before him, Edwards is here in this symphony finding his own solution to the riddle of the Australian geographic and cultural situation — his own distinctive accommodation between the influences of the landscape and cultures of our region, and the inherited traditions of western classical music.

The First Symphony is written as a single movement, a long sighing adagio that is Brucknerian in its nobility and yearning. A fragment of Gregorian chant, repeated and refracted, is at the symphony’s core. Edwards lays down a carpet of lush string sound, lit by smooth incantations from the horns and a gentle touches of tuned percussion. It builds to a broad brass chorale around the 11:46 mark, peaking again at around 18 minutes before fading away. It is a moving piece of music, deceptive in its simplicity.