BackStage Music | Stories of Water and Earth
December 5, 2024, Woodburn Creatives, Redfern, NSW
On Thursday the 5th of December, I made my way across Redfern to the Woodburn Creative Studios to watch one of the final concerts from BackStage Music’s 2024 season. On the bill was a new long form commission from Djapa woman Melanie Mununggurr and Netanela Mizrahi titled Stories of Water and Earth in the first half, followed by a work titled Freshwater Woman by Yuwaalaraay woman Nardi Simpson. I have seen a lot of live music this year, but this concert was something special, and everyone in the room seemed to understand that in that moment we were a part of something bigger.
Melanie Munuggurr is a true creative force, and her spoken words were vividly brought to life by Mizrahi’s music. In a series of short works seamlessly connected to each other, Stories of Water and Earth depicts Munuggurr’s connection to Country. Interspersed with dreaming stories and a reimagining of life before settlement, the power in her every word was clear. The ensemble made up of members from Sydney’s Ensemble Offspring, and Darwin’s Arafura Collective operated as a cohesive whole, perfectly supporting Munuggurr – allowing her words to both softly land on a celestial bed of stars and triumphantly ring with fire and urgency. In her final verse, Mununggurr cried “resistance is an orchestra, a symphony over time, each era a different instrument…..we are our ancestors’ greatest dreams realised” driving home a fantastic, creative and stunning performance of an entirely original work inspired by this place.
Nardi Simpson is one of our greatest national treasures and if you haven’t seen her perform you are doing yourself a disservice. Freshwater Woman is no exception to the very highest calibre of musical expression we have come to experience with Nardi at the helm. Beginning with an acknowledgement that her story begins on Gadigal land, the truth of this was brought home by the sound of sirens and trains rushing past – a visceral reminder that this performance took place in the heart of Blak Sydney in Redfern. As she took us on a journey through her home Yuwaalaraay Country, each interlude was narrated with a dreaming story followed by a musical work to characterise what we had just heard. Nardi’s singing and language shone through, expertly accompanied by members of the wonderful Ensemble Offspring. We ended our journey at Narran Lake with an interactive performance where the audience was invited to sing the different bird songs who you might encounter on the lake.
A truly unique and heart-warming evening of language, poetry, music, beauty and breath. Every audience member was invested. I saw tears, laughter, gasps, cries of joy and cheers to conclude the evening – a testament to the power of these two deadly women whose practice is informed by their ancestors, inspired by the strength of Country and held in the dreaming. I left thinking to myself that if the ancestors had set their dreamtime stories to music, I had just held witness to what they would have sounded like. I took home with me Nardi’s reflection that our songlines had all led us to that place last night, and felt grateful to have been in the presence of such creative and triumphant expressions of Indigenous identity, resilience and survival.
Reviewer: Dr Laura Case:
Dr. Laura Case is a lecturer in musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Her research looks at the social and cultural history of music in Australia with a particular focus on the violin, cross-cultural interactions, and feminist perspectives. She is also passionate about using music to reframe Indigenous histories and reclaim Indigenous knowledge. Laura is a proud Wiradjuri woman from Central West New South Wales and a classical violinist with over 20 years of performing and teaching experience.
