I Still Call Australia Home was written, first performed and recorded by Peter Allen in 1980. In that year the song peaked on the Australian Singles Chart at number 72. But whilst its initial impact was somewhat less than stellar, it has gone on to become one of those songs that is part of the national psyche and is well-known by most Australians.

In I still Call Australia Home Peter Allen wrote of his longing, no matter where in the World he might travel, to always return home to Australia, where he could be near his family and friends once again. The song is now regarded as a heart-warming expression of Australian patriotism and nostalgia for home.

Its adoption by Qantas in the mid 1990s as the centrepiece of a long-running advertising campaign exposed a new generation of Australians to the song and greatly boosted its popularity. The Qantas campaign became one of the top Australian television campaigns of all time. It has linked together Australians living at home with those travelling or living overseas. Beginning with a number of well-known Australian musicians, the campaign went on to become associated with the Australian Girls Choir, the National Boys Choir and the Gondwana National Indigenous Children?s Choir.

The song has featured in television programs, benefit concerts, sporting event ceremonies, and was included in the musical, The Boy From Oz, which starred Todd McKenney as Peter Allen in the Australian production and Hugh Jackman in the title role when the musical transferred to Broadway.

This arrangement, with piano accompaniment, is available in SATB, SSA, SAB and 2-Part voicings.

La Feria (The Fair) is a Spanish fiesta! All the sights and sounds of a traditional Spanish street festival.
Paul Lacome wrote mostly operas-bouffes, light comic operas. That same drama and delight comes through in this piece. Originally written for orchestra, there have been many popular arrangements for band. I have arranged it for Clarinet Quartet without losing any of the Spanish tradition or dramatic character of the piece.
The Suite is in 3 sections. The first is entitled Los Toros (The Bulls). The running of the bulls is a tradition of nearly every Spanish fair. This highly energetic and rhythmic section is traditional Spanish fiesta music at its best. The second section is entitled La Reja (loosely-The Gate). This one is in the form of a Serenade. Every fair has a street barred off with a special archway entrance or gate. Inside, tents are set up serving local wine. Strolling street musicians will visit each tent and serenade. This section is scaled back dynamically and also in texture to imitate the solo or duo strolling musician. For the B theme of this section I move the melody to the Clarinet 3 part down low. I like to amuse myself and think of this brief growling melody as a tipsy patron of the tent singing back to the musicians. The street musicians then quickly resume their original song. The final section is entitled La Zarzuela. The Zarzuela is a uniquely Spanish comic opera that is heavy on dance and spoken dialogue. It has much in common with the American vaudeville shows. This section is in the form of a brisk waltz, another high energy rhythmic dance where Clarinet 2 takes the B theme melody.
This piece is of Advanced Intermediate difficulty due to constant movement, articulations, rhythm, and range. Clarinet 1 in particular uses the full range of the instrument.
21 page score, 4 pages @ part, 38 pages total booklet
4:30 minutes
temporary MIDI recording