IMAGIN D CORNERS - 2018 SEASON - The Song Company
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
–
I MAG I N ´ D
CO R N E RS
–
2 01 8 S EASO N
THE SOUND WE
MAKE IS WHO The Song Company belongs to
a land whose first peoples have
Our repertoire spans more than
a thousand years – from antique
WE ARE, AND WE
always used songlines and vocal manuscripts to scores fresh from
music to pass knowledge and the printer today, and is breathtaking
culture from generation to in its stylistic diversity and often
ARE THE SONG
generation. As vocal adventurers virtuosic in its demands. We are at
and cultural ambassadors our unique the forefront of contemporary vocal
voices and personalities engage in music through our imaginative
the telling of new stories and the commissioning program and
COMPANY OF
re-telling of ancient stories through relationships with both established
vocalization as old as the human and emerging artists and composers.
voice itself. From our beginnings Since 2016 the award-winning
AUSTRALIA – WE
over thirty years ago we have British composer and conductor
developed an energetic schedule of Antony Pitts has been at the helm
national and international touring, as Artistic Director, bringing a
GIVE VOICE TO
an annual subscription series in new conception of exploration
cities across Australia, recording and and excellence in all that we do.
broadcast projects, diverse education We believe our vocal adventures are
activities for all ages including part of what makes Australia the
STORIES FROM
students in regional and remote land of discovery for musicians and
areas, and outstanding collaborative audiences alike for the years to come.
projects with creative artists from
MANY TIMES AND
across the globe.
PLACES.
–
I MAG I N ´ D
CO R N E RS
–
The sun rises every day over a world that is
both very familiar and full of the unexpected.
The borders with the unknown unknowns are all
around us – the forgotten past and the imagined
future out of reach, but unfathomable creative
feats of imagination within our grasp in the
here and now. In The Song Company’s 2018
Reviews from 2016/2017
season we remember the century-old hope at the
“Such was the atmosphere and marvellous music-
end of the “war to end all wars” with a newly- making of this group, the hushed audience barely dared
commissioned work by Ross Edwards, and we even to breathe...” “From silence, to one, to many, it felt
sing and talk of love and loss in much older times like the perfect opening to a new chapter...” “a concert
through the voices of Guillaume de Machaut and of rare and transcendent beauty...” “A mesmerising
his admirer Péronnelle; we also sit round the performance...” “Very finely controlled, tuned, and
table with William Byrd and his contemporaries balanced...” “stunning vocal pyrotechnics...” “Engaging,
to rediscover the lost art of partbooking, and we intriguing, and provoking...” “Enduringly fascinating...”
map the seasons in a kaleidoscopic selection of “a concert of exceptional beauty...” “The Song Company
music alongside an Indigenous creative response is one of the bravest ensembles around...” “There’s not
to the changing of the seasons – from Bundjalung much that can defeat The Song Company. This tight-
knit group can sing, act and, most important, think
and Wiradjuri dancer and choreographer
their way around pretty much anything you can throw
Thomas E.S. Kelly. Lightly dusted across the at them...” “I was yet again overawed by the exquisite
season are the thoughts of metaphysical poets vocal machine that is The Song Company...” “This is
George Herbert and John Donne, and with virtuoso ensemble singing... It’s hard to imagine a better
them we imagine beyond... performance...” “The audience were enchanted and
seduced by the possibilities of the voice...” “A reminder
I am also delighted to announce as our new
of the staggering virtuosity of which The Song Company
Artistic Patron the eminent conductor and is capable... the performance of such a program was a
musical colleague, Stephen Layton, and hope tour de force, showing us once again what a brilliant
that you too can join us in traversing the “round outfit The Song Company is, and whetting the appetite
earth’s imagin’d corners”. for further concerts under their new director. What will
they think of next?”
Antony Pitts: Artistic DirectorCO N C E RT O N E
Exquisite polyphony by William Byrd and
friends, written down in the late 16th century
between Oxford and London and sung from
partbooks around the table – in town tavern
and country house.
Imagine a dinner party where your host passes
round antique leatherbound music manuscripts
and says, “You’re singing tenor!” Then around
BY R D
the table one voice after another begins to sing
from the ancient Dow Partbooks, bringing to life
the most beautiful music from late 16th-century
Oxford and London. Each part has to count and
listen out for the others, and together they own the
–
communal but invisible pulse – the “tactus”, a Latin
word meaning something touched or felt. Whether
singing or listening, the experience is one of an
unfolding narrative – a collective navigation through
a gorgeous harmonic landscape – enabling us to
RO U N D
explore the innermost feelings hidden in the music
of William Byrd and his friends, who shared this
sumptuous polyphony over 400 years ago, no doubt
with candles, wine, much laughter and bonhomie!
–
Program of table music and motets by Byrd & co.:
William Byrd O Lord make Thy servant Elizabeth
William Byrd Ne irasceris
Robert White Lamentations a5
TA B L E
William Byrd Christe qui lux es
Robert Parsons O bone Jesu
Dates:
Thur 1 Feb, 7pm Sat 17 March, 3pm
Newcastle Wollongong Art Gallery
Conservatorium
Tue 20 March, 7.30pm
Sat 3 Feb, 7.30pm The Entrance Court,
Yellow House, Sydney Art Gallery of NSW
PREVIEW NIGHT
THE DOW PARTBOOKS AND Thurs 22 March, 7.30pm
Sun 11 Feb, 2.30pm Ballarat Art Gallery
THE LOST ART OF PARTBOOKING Ukaria Cultural Centre,
Fri 23 March, 7.30pm
Mount Barker
Deakin Edge, Federation
Sat 10 March, 3pm Square, Melbourne
Blackheath Uniting
Tue 27 March, 7.30pm
Church
The Spring Hill
Thur 15 March, 2pm Reservoirs, Brisbane
Berry School of Arts
31 March – 1 April
Fri 16 March, 7pm Four Winds 2018 Easter
Wesley Uniting Church, Festival, Bermagui
CanberraCO N C E RT TWO
An autobiographical mediaeval French romance in a
time of war and plague – as told by poet and composer
Guillaume de Machaut.
In 1359 the English attempted to lay siege to Rheims
T RU E
– a crucial prize in the Hundred Years’ War as France’s
coronation city; two years later France’s greatest poet
and composer, Guillaume de Machaut entertained the
heir to the throne and in 1364 witnessed the coronation
of Charles the Fifth. But the early 1360s were exciting
–
and fruitful for Machaut for other reasons: he began a
lengthy correspondence with a young female admirer
and documented their friendship in what he called the
“book of the true story”, Le Livre du Voir Dit, containing
over 9000 lines of poetry, and the letters, love-poems, and
LOV E
songs they sent to each other – the ultimate 14th-century
multimedia presentation. The accuracy of the narrative
Machaut sets down in his “true poem” is sometimes
questionable, but there is a ring of veracity in the
–
haphazard and sometimes contradictory recollections
of the course of what must be true love…
Semistaged program of music and words
by Guillaume de Machaut:
STO RY
Ballade 32 – Ploures dames
Rondeau 13 – Dame se vous n’avez aperceu
Ballade 33 – Nes que on porroit
Rondeau 4 – Sans cuer dolens
Lai 13 – ‘Le Lay de bonne esperance’
Rondeau 17 – Dix et sept, cinq
Rondeau 18 – Puis qu’en oubli
Ballade 34 – Quant Theseus / Ne quier veoir
Ballade 36 – Se pour ce muir
Ballade 31 – De toute flours
song.company/true-love-story
THE TRUE STORY OF
Dates:
GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT Tue 5 June, 7.30pm Thur 21 June, 7pm
& PÉRONNELLE D’ARMENTIÈRES Yellow House, Sydney Newcastle
PREVIEW NIGHT Conservatorium
Fri 8 June, 7.30pm Sat 23 June, 3pm
Deakin Edge, Federation Independent Theatre,
Square, Melbourne North Sydney
Fri 15 June, 7.30pm Tue 26 June, 7.30pm
Street Theatre, Canberra Bathurst Memorial
Entertainment Centre
Sun 17 June, 3pm
Wollongong Art GalleryCO N C E RT T H R E E
WITH THE THOMAS E.S.
KELLY PROJECT
An evergreen selection of song and brand-new
Indigenous dance to match the patterns and movement
of the many Australian seasons.
FO U R
Following the movement of our planet around the Sun,
the weather changes and nature responds in colour
and shape to the wind and the rain, the shadows and
the sunshine. The traditional four seasons of Spring,
–
Summer, Autumn, and Winter have been depicted in
European art and music for centuries, but the Aboriginal
experience of the seasons is a much more varied and
subtler story that tells of the patterns of animal and
plant life and their direct impact on survival. In this
CO LO U R
sympathetic synthesis of two artforms The Song
Company is joined by a duo of dancers from The Thomas
E.S. Kelly Project to trace the course of the Earth’s
annual journey in movement and song, both old
and new.
–
Program includes:
Arrangements from Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
and music ranging from Alice Chance Pallah-Pallah to
Francis Poulenc Un soir de neige
S EASO N
song.company/four-colour-season
Dates:
Thur 30 Aug, 7.30pm Tue 18 Sept, 7.30pm
Yellow House, Sydney Lend Lease Darling
PREVIEW NIGHT Quarter Theatre, Sydney
Tue 4 Sept, 7.30pm Thur 20 Sept, 7pm
The Spring Hill Newcastle
Reservoirs, Brisbane Conservatorium
Fri 7 Sept, 7.30pm Sun 23 September, 5pm
Street Theatre, Canberra Griffith Regional Theatre
Sat 8 Sept, 3pm Fri 28 Sept, 7.30pm
Wollongong Art Gallery The Joan, Penrith
THE SEASONS, THE SKY, Thur 13 Sept, 7.30pm Sat 29 Sept, 3pm
AND THE GUMLEAVES IN Deakin Edge, Federation
Square, Melbourne
Independent Theatre,
North Sydney
VOICES AND DANCE FROM Fri 14 Sept, 7.30pm
Ballarat Art Gallery
CHANCE TO VIVALDI
Sat 15 Sept, 7.30pm
Nexus Multicultural Arts
Centre, AdelaideCO N C E RT FO U R
One hundred years since the ending of the Great
War we sing of a peace at once unattainable and
everlasting, culminating in a radiant new work by
Ross Edwards.
The poetry of 17th-century metaphysician John
Donne and the late playwright Douglas Muecke
form the twin doors to a world of remembrance
ONE
and resurgence in a program framed by newly-
commissioned music by three Australian composers:
Ruth McCall, Ella Macens, and in his 75th year,
Ross Edwards. One century ago in Compiègne the
world witnessed the end of the “war to end all wars”,
–
hoping that humankind would not again undergo
such an overwhelming catastrophe. Composers
have long tried to imagine a world without war and
suffering, and in luminous harmonies touch on that
state beyond conflict and without end – Donne’s
EQ UA L
own vision of eternal life centres on perfection and
freedom from the earthly imbalance and disorder so
familiar to us in the here and now – “no noise, nor
silence, but one equal music”.
–
Program includes:
Settings of Douglas Muecke by Ruth McCall
and Ella Macens (world premiere)
Ross Edwards new work (world premiere)
MU S I C
Settings of George Herbert and John Donne
Viktor Kalinnikov Nïñe Otpushcháyeshï
song.company/one-equal-music
Dates:
Tue 30 Oct, 7.30pm Sat 10 Nov, 3pm
Yellow House, Sydney Wollongong Art Gallery
PREVIEW NIGHT
Fri 16 Nov, 7.30pm
Thur 1 Nov, 7pm Deakin Edge, Federation
Newcastle Square, Melbourne
Conservatorium
MEMORY ETERNAL IN Thur 22 Nov, 7.30pm
Sat 3 Nov, 3pm St James’ King Street,
MUSIC OF OUR CENTURY Blackheath Uniting Sydney
Church
FROM RUSSIA, ENGLAND, Thur 8 Nov, 2pm
AND AUSTRALIA Berry School of Arts
Fri 9 Nov, 7.30pm
Wesley Uniting Church
Canberra(L–R) Susannah Lawergren (L–R) Hannah Fraser (mezzo-
(soprano), Andrew O'Connor soprano), Anna Fraser
(bass), Richard Black (tenor), (soprano), Mark Donnelly
Antony Pitts (conductor) (baritone)
– V I RT UA L
C E L E B RAT I O N
MA D R I GA L ESQ U E
ST RA N G E RS
A musical dialogue between past and An a cappella selection of audience
–
present in collaboration with Hylton and Company favourites from the
Mowday and We Love Jam Studios 16th and 17th centuries
FAU R É R EQ U I EM Each year we put on and take part in a number
— of special events in collaboration with Australia’s
finest artists, ranging from Baroque spectaculars
ROSS E DWA R DS AT 7 5
to modern masterpieces. Tickets to this season’s
specials are offered first to our regular subscribers
and donors. In addition, our pop-up performances –
such as Madrigalesque and Virtual Strangers – range
from in-repertoire programs to the latest surprising
A 75th birthday concert for Ross This version for vocal and instrumental
sets, and usually take place with advance warning
Edwards with an intimate chamber consort brings new clarity to Fauré’s
sent by email and social media. We also have a
performance of Fauré’s perennial vivid harmonies and is surrounded by the
number of projects in development over multiple
Requiem. Gabriel Fauré claimed that elemental soundworld of Ross Edwards,
years, including Katy Abbott Kvasnica’s revealing
his “Requiem wasn’t written for anything one of Australia’s most distinguished
Hidden Thoughts with Syzygy Ensemble, Peggy
– for pleasure, if I may call it that!” composers.
Glanville-Hicks Resident Jon Rose’s experimental
sonification of Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Artistic
Sat 1 Dec, 3pm Director Antony Pitts’s monumental Requiem for the
Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music Time of the End, inspired by Alexander Litvinenko.
song.company/Ross-Edwards–
VOCALIZATION
–
VOCALIZATION EXPRESSES EDUCATION
BOTH THE HEART AND THE Our educational work is broad in scope and rich in content, and takes us across the country and into
rural areas to work with students at primary, secondary, and tertiary level, with continuing partnerships
HEAD OF WHAT WE DO with Gondwana Choirs and Moorambilla Voices. We aim to nurture a new generation of Australians who
appreciate and enjoy vocal music, both as participants and as listeners.
AS THE SONG COMPANY, song.company/education
AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER
VOCAL ENSEMBLE – WE SONGCO LAB
GIVE VOICE TO FEELINGS, Not just a summer school, SongCo Lab is now open across the year for applications from
WE TELL STORIES WITH
singers at varying career stages and is an exceptional opportunity for individual and professional
development, offering valuable ensemble experience with additional specialist workshops and mentoring.
SONG. LEADING BY song.company/lab
EXAMPLE, WE TAKE PRIDE
IN ACTIVELY NURTURING YOUNG ARTISTS
ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES OF We are establishing a group of young and emerging artists alongside our core ensemble to develop
a coherent sound that draws on The Song Company’s rich vocal legacy and to offer significant professional
ALL AGES. development opportunities to younger artists in our mainstage and other programs.
song.company/vocalizationBO O K I N G To book concerts in our 2018 subscription series visit:
I N FO RMAT I O N WWW. SO N G .COM PA N Y
How to Book Single tickets Extend Our Reach Please consider making a gift to support the work of
Visit song.company/subscribe to select the concerts Single tickets for concerts will be available after Being a philanthropic partner The Song Company. Alternatively, to discuss how
you wish to add to your subscription package. 1 November 2017. connects you in a meaningful The Song Company may be an opportunity for your
To request a booking form please email To purchase single tickets visit song.company/buy or phone way to The Song Company by company to reach a compatible audience, contact our
mail@song.company or phone 02 8272 9500. 02 8272 9500. Extend supporting an area of particular office on (02) 8272 9500.
Single ticket prices Our Reach interest to you. Philanthropic
Subscribe and Save partners play a vital role in Artistic Patron
Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane Stephen Layton
By purchasing a subscription, sustaining and developing
Full $65 / Concession $60 / Under 30 $40
you directly contribute to the The Song Company and
Subscribe work of The Song Company Berry, Blackheath, Wollongong, Newcastle nurturing the creativity of our Joint Vice-Regal Patronage
Full $60 / Concession $55 / Under 30 $30
and Save all year round and receive artists and collaborators. For more information on how His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley
a range of benefits for your Fauré Requiem / Ross Edwards at 75 you can designate your support to one of the following AC DSC (Ret’d) Governor of New South Wales, and Mrs
support: Full $95 / Concession $75 / Under 30 $45 areas: General Partners, Commissioning Partners, Artist Linda Hurley
• Secure your seats for the Support Partners, Regional Program Partners, Special
Other Venues
2018 season at a reduced Project Partners, and how to join the Artistic Director’s
Tickets to performances at the following venues are only Government Funding Partners
rate Table, and to discover how your support assists in that
available as single tickets and subject to different pricing. The Song Company Pty Ltd is assisted by the Australian
area, visit song.company/partner
• Be the first to purchase pop-ups and special projects Please contact the following venues to purchase tickets or Government through the Australia Council, its arts
• Rewards for referring friends to The Song Company visit song.company/venues funding and advisory body, and the NSW Government
The Song Company is an endorsed charitable institution
• Invitations to subscriber-only events and open • Ballarat Art Gallery, VIC 03 5320 5858 and Deductible Gift Recipient. Donations of $2 or more are through Create NSW.
rehearsals • Ukaria, Mt. Barker, SA 08 8227 1277 tax-deductible.
• Offers and discounts from other arts organisations • Four Winds 2018 Easter Festival, Bermagui, NSW
02 6493 3414 Acknowledgements
• Renewing subscribers each year receive an extra
• Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, NSW The Song Company would like to thank all our generous
10% discount on subscription prices
02 6333 6161 sponsors and donors for their ongoing support and
To take advantage of all these offers, purchase your • Griffith Regional Theatre, NSW 02 6962 8444 Enquiries
gratefully acknowledge the vital role each plays in our
subscription prior to 1 November 2017.
continued development. For a full list of donors visit For enquiries please call The Song Company
Subscription prices per concert Use your voice! Visit song.company/share www.song.company/partner (02) 8272 9500 or visit www.song.company
Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane Help us spread the word The Song Company receives part of its annual funding This brochure is correct at time of printing August 2017.
Full $60 / Concession $55 • Request a free souvenir edition from Government sources, with the balance made up Artists and programs are subject to change without notice.
Berry, Blackheath, Wollongong, Newcastle, Penrith of our brochure to be sent to from performance income, individual donations and
Full $55 / Concession $50 someone you know. Use your sponsorship. Corporate and private support is critical
to our ongoing artistic growth.
• Turn your friends into first-time voice!
subscribers and you'll both receive
FOLLOW US ON
an additional discount on your
2019 renewal.
#SONGCO18
SOUVENIR EDITION BROCHURE201 8 S EASO N
-AT A GLANCE-
F E B–MA RC H JUNE
BYRD-ROUND-TABLE TRUE-LOVE-STORY
Thur 1 Feb, 7pm Sat 17 March, 3pm Tue 5 June, 7.30pm Thur 21 June, 7pm
Newcastle Wollongong Art Gallery Yellow House, Sydney Newcastle Conservatorium
Conservatorium PREVIEW NIGHT
Tue 20 March, 7.30pm Sat 23 June, 3pm
Sat 3 Feb, 7.30pm The Entrance Court, Fri 8 June, 7.30pm Independent Theatre,
Yellow House, Sydney Art Gallery of NSW Deakin Edge, Federation North Sydney
PREVIEW NIGHT Square, Melbourne
Thur 22 March, 7.30pm Tue 26 June, 7.30pm
Sun 11 Feb, 2.30pm Ballarat Art Gallery Fri 15 June, 7.30pm Bathurst Memorial
Ukaria Cultural Centre, Street Theatre, Canberra Entertainment Centre
Fri 23 March, 7.30pm
Mount Barker
Deakin Edge, Federation Sun 17 June, 3pm
Sat 10 March, 3pm Square, Melbourne Wollongong Art Gallery
Blackheath Uniting Church
Tue 27 March, 7.30pm
Thur 15 March, 2pm The Spring Hill Reservoirs,
Berry School of Arts Brisbane
Fri 16 March, 7pm 31 March – 1 April
Wesley Uniting Church, Four Winds 2018 Easter
Canberra Festival, Bermagui
AU G –S E PT O CT– N OV
FOUR-COLOUR-SEASON ONE-EQUAL-MUSIC
Thur 30 Aug, 7.30pm Tue 18 Sept, 7.30pm Tue 30 Oct, 7.30pm Sat 10 Nov, 3pm
Yellow House, Sydney Lend Lease Darling Yellow House, Sydney Wollongong Art Gallery
PREVIEW NIGHT Quarter Theatre PREVIEW NIGHT
Fri 16 Nov, 7.30pm
Tue 4 Sept, 7.30pm Thur 20 Sept, 7pm Thur 1 Nov, 7pm Deakin Edge, Federation
The Spring Hill Reservoirs, Newcastle Conservatorium Newcastle Conservatorium Square, Melbourne
Brisbane
Sun 23 Sept, 5pm Sat 3 Nov, 3pm Thur 22 Nov, 7.30pm
Fri 7 Sept, 7.30pm Griffith Regional Theatre Blackheath Uniting Church St James’ King Street,
Street Theatre, Canberra Sydney
Fri 28 Sept, 7.30pm Thur 8 Nov, 2pm
Sat 8 Sept, 3pm The Joan, Penrith Berry School of Arts
Wollongong Art Gallery
Sat 29 Sept, 3pm Fri 9 Nov, 7.30pm
Thur 13 Sept, 7.30pm Independent Theatre, Wesley Uniting Church
Deakin Edge, Federation North Sydney Canberra
Square, Melbourne
Fri 14 Sept, 7.30pm
Ballarat Art Gallery
Sat 15 Sept, 7.30pm
Nexus Multicultural Arts
Centre, Adelaide
D EC
FAURÉ REQUIEM/ROSS EDWARDS AT 75
Sat 1 Dec, 3pm, Verbrugghen Hall
SOUVENIR EDITION www.song.companyYou can also read
