CAMPBELL, Phyllis

Campbell lived and died in relative obscurity, but she composed over 300 works, including 128 for piano solo. They are highly impressionistic pieces, using many dense, chromatic harmonies and cluster chords with very minimal melodic material and ambiguous tonality or even bi-tonality. She uses a variety of modes including the whole-tone scale, the mystic chord and pentatonic scales. The main focus is on colourful harmonies which build tension, shifting gradually during the course of the music, much like a colour wheel used by a visual artist of the time. The most immediate association is the music of Debussy, but because she rarely resolves the harmonic tension, she rarely achieves the same moments of repose that are a feature of Debussy’s music. Although Campbell did not receive much recognition in her life time, after her death her husband, Elliston devoted himself to collecting together her manuscripts and ensuring they were placed somewhere for future study. They are currently housed in the archive section of the University of Technology, Sydney.