national library

Far Horizons

July 15, 20142007 Concert Seasonanne boyd, dulcie holland, elena kats-chernin, far horizons, fiona fraser, margaret sutherland, national library, peggy polias, vanessa nimmo, wendy hiscocks

Far Horizons showcases music written by Australian women over the last 70 years, with works by composers that represent three generations of Art Music in Australia, and trace the importance of individuals in developing an active Australian music culture.

Pioneers of Australian art music Dulcie Holland and Margaret Sutherland were experimenting with tonality and timbre in the early twentieth century, alongside other prominent women such as Mirrie Hill and Peggy Glanville-Hicks. These composers were well ahead of their time, writing avant-garde music in a generally unappreciative environment, and it is fitting that some of their works will be heard tonight. Both Holland and Sutherland were inspirational to future generations of Australian composers through their piano and theory publications, and establishment of musical institutions respectively.

Later composers included such luminaries as Anne Boyd, Elena Kats-Chernin and Ann Carr-Boyd. Such women achieved international success, and put Australian music on the world stage. More recently, composers such as Wendy Hiscocks, Lisa Lim and Katy Abbott represent a new generation of Australian music heard overseas, and Peggy Polias, who you will hear tonight.

Locally, Canberrans Judith Clingan, Sandy France, and Ruth Lee Martin are part of a rich composition culture in the ACT. This culture continues to thrive and tonight you will hear premieres of two works by emerging Canberran composers, Fiona Fraser and Vanessa Nimmo.

Of course it is impossible to include all the composers mentioned above in the program, but we hope the sample we have provides a brief glimpse into the rich and diverse culture of Australian music. These works are not just important as ‘Australian’ works, but also form part of a more general musical and artistic fabric. It is therefore fitting that in tonight’s concert we will be juxtaposing the music alongside poetry from Australia and beyond – Poetry that inspired some of the pieces, and poetry that we felt expressed the emotion that the pieces convey.

Anne Boyd – Miaren Mair
Margaret Sutherland – Valse Descant arr. Fraser
Peggy Polias – As It Seemed
Fiona Fraser – To Boldly Go
Elena Kats-Chernin – Totschki
Wendy Hiscocks – Beat! Beat! Drums!
Vanessa Nimmo – Sweet Sessions of Silent Thought
Dulcie Holland – Sonata, mvt 1: Brooding arr. Sollis

Friday 29 June 7pm 2007 @ National Library of Australia

Talking Drums

July 15, 20142008 Concert Seasonfrancis poulenc, jean-jaques rosseau, luciana berio, michael sollis, national library, nebojsa jovan zivkovic, nigel butterley, talking drums, wendy hiscocks

The relationship between music and language has firmly imprinted itself upon me over the past few years, and I hope to share some of the insights I have been fortunate enough to stumble upon. Tonight’s program includes works written by composers who specifically searched for connections between speech and song, words and notes.

Composers of all genres and cultures seem to have been fascinated by what I have dubbed ‘musical-lingual overlap’ in both vocal and instrumental music. In Western art music composers such as Balakirev, Janáček, Bartók, Schoenberg, Partch and Bernstein have all explored the relationship between music and language in their music. It is no accident that 18th century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose belief that language and music had similar structures, was himself a composer, and whose music you will hear tonight.

One of the most interesting insights into such phenomena is provided by French anthropologist and amateur musician Claude Lévi-Strauss, arguably one of the century’s most influential thinkers. Lévi-Strauss proposed a science of mythology, where myth was analysed as if it were a musical score. Lévi-Strauss most well-known book, The Raw and the Cooked, itself was written analogously to musical structures (such as an Overture, Symphony, Fugue etc.), instead of usual ‘chapters’ to accurately represent his thoughts on myth and culture. Interestingly, the influence of Lévi-Strauss provides a thread through the program: Rousseau’s work was one of the major influences to Lévi-Strauss; I have written a piece using the form and structure of the Overture of The Raw and the Cooked; and Berio used the text of The Raw and the Cooked as his libretto for perhaps his most (in)famous piece, Sinfonia.

As both a researcher and composer, I see the relationship between music and language as an essential component of human culture. This program of works provides many different perspectives on this relationship, which will surely stimulate your own imagination and musician inside.

Michael Sollis

Francis Poulenc – Rapsodie Nègre
Jean-Jaques Rousseau – Overture to Le Devin du Village
Michael Sollis – The Raw and the Cooked: Overture
Nebojša Jovan Živković – To the Gods of Rhythm
Nigel Butterley – The Wind Stirs Gently
Wendy Hiscocks – Pages of Poetry
Luciano Berio – Folk Songs

27 June 2008 @ National Library of Australia

Winter Solstice

July 4, 20142014 Griffyn Fairy Talesaustralia, griffyn, kinsella, muldoon, musica viva, national library, wesfarmers

Fri June 20 6pm
National Library of Australia

White like black, like light and like darkness, connect literature, music, art, spirituality and science.

Cultures around the world have been observing the winter solstice for thousands of years. Join us to celebrate the universal wonders of light and dark and their resonances through contemporary art, music and poetry specially created for the Luminous World – Contemporary Art from the Wesfarmers Collection exhibition.

This special event features Rhys Muldoon reading the poetry of John Kinsella, performances by the Griffyn Ensemble as well as storytelling and scientific discussion of celestial events.In association with Wesfarmers Ltd, Musica Viva Australia and The Brassey Hotel Canberra.