Farr From Heaven

"As you've probably gathered, I'm impatient! I get bored quickly, so I always make sure I have plenty of projects on the go. One day I'll be doing a piece of work for the symphony orchestra and the next I'll be doing a TV advert in drag. People aren't quite sure what to expect from me and that gives me a certain amount of license that other performers don't have."

In Farr From Heaven, written and directed by Roz Mason, New Zealand's preeminent young composer and percussionist, Gareth Farr, opens up his world as he prepares, creates, rehearses and performs a variety of music works.

An arts' magazine-style documentary in two parts it was made as part of the TVNZ series Artsville. The series brought documentaries on art and artists to the screen during the mid 2000s.

Mason's crew followed Gareth's life closely for six months: "keeping the same crew did ensure a consistent look and a cohesive team spirit but also helped Gareth feel at home with the crew who were so much a part of his life for all that time. He was amazingly candid, particularly about the composition process and I'm sure his knowing the team helped that".

Farr describes the filming experience as, "one hellava six months in my life".

Part One begins with a fast-moving montage: scenes of Strike, one of New Zealand's leading percussion ensembles are cut together with Gareth discussing his work. Lilith Lacroix - "my alto ego who dresses up in drag and plays the drums", is introduced, followed by Farr's wry admission - "I've got a proper job too. I'm a Classical Composer".

"Serious isn't a word I'd associate often with my personality - in either capacity. What I enjoy most is challenging peoples' preconceptions of what a classical musician is."

The first part of the documentary takes in Farr's score for a Toi Whaakari (New Zealand Drama School) production of Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre; his work with the Balinese Gamelan, and Pukal, for Percussion and Brass, a piece for the New Zealand Army Band, commissioned for the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Gallipoli. Murray from Strike says "The only brief we gave to Gareth was to write the loudest piece in the world".

In Part Two, the crew follows Farr to Australia where he works with leading Australian artists, poet Les Murray and vocal group The Song Company. Farr sets music to the poems creating a song cycle for a performance at Government House.

Throughout both programmes, Gareth openly discusses being gay and its centrality to his identity, and also its complications:

"As far as [drag alter-ego] Lilith goes, it's a very complicated scenario, but I've never felt like a split personality. When I'm Lilith I'm all woman. She's exciting and scary and can get away with things that I wouldn't dare. But when I'm writing classical music, I'm all male... It would be very difficult for me to imagine writing orchestra music in drag!"

Later a conventionally dressed Farr is captured working at his home workstation, focusing on his music notation programme, as he continues his next commission, Concerto for Orchestra and Percussion.

The first rehearsal with all the musicians is a disaster. There are balance problems between the instruments within the arrangement. The conductor Ken Young doesn‘t hold back pointing this out and Farr goes home with some serious revision work. After three days, the work is represented, and the performance, a world premiere, is a success and Farr is finally happy.

Farr's motto in life is "enjoy it before it's too late!" Farr From Heaven is an inspiring testament to Farr's impassioned personality and his commitment to making original music in all its sonic (sparkling sequins or not) glory.