Soloing Free was commissioned by the Cranbrook School in Sydney as part of a generous artistic project to support Australian composers during the Centenary year. Directed by Luke Gilmour, 10 pieces were commissioned by leading and emerging Australian composers, for a variety of ensembles, the world premier performances combined at Sydney Town Hall in 2018 with the composers present.
Paul was fortunate to compose two pieces, and ‘Soloing Free’, written for experienced treble choir is a dedication to Alex Honnold, widely considered the greatest rock climber of all time.
In 2017 Alex Honnold became the first person to scale the iconic 3,000-foot granite wall known as El Capitan without using ropes or other safety gear, completing what may be the greatest feat of pure rock climbing in the history of the sport. He ascended the peak in 3 hours, 56 minutes.
He hiked up the boulder-strewn path to the base of the cliff in the dark to begin climbing at sunrise. There, he pulled on a pair of sticky soled climbing shoes, fastened a small bag of chalk around his waist to keep his hands dry, found his first toehold, and began inching his way up toward climbing history.
For more than a year, Honnold had been training for the climb at locations in the United States, China, Europe, and Morocco. A small circle of friends and fellow climbers who knew about the project had been sworn to secrecy. His hundreds of pioneering climbs had also made history but pale in comparison to El Capitan. It’s hard to overstate the physical and mental difficulties of a free solo ascent of the peak, which is considered by many to be the epicentre of the rock climbing world. It is a vertical expanse stretching more than a half mile up, higher than the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. From the meadow at the foot of El Capitan, climbers on the peak’s upper reaches are practically invisible to the naked eye. Alex’s climb is a huge leap forward for the human endeavour and possibly the greatest sporting moment of all time – and he did it all alone, for no reward or fame.
Paul is inspired by Alex in so many ways, not only for his climbing feats, but for his attitude to life. Alex chooses to live a modest life, in his van, close to nature, and gives most of his earnings to charity. He runs his own foundation, set up to tackle poverty and provide environmental initiatives in regions around the world where he as climbed. http://www.honnoldfoundation.org
The audio sample below is from a digital source only.
