Halcyon | The Dance of Life
October 20, 2023, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
Halcyon’s concert on Friday night at Walsh Bay was a celebration of the ensemble’s 25th year. It was a wonderfully warm evening hosted by long time collaborator and friend of the ensemble Genevieve Lang who regaled us with touching stories of the many connections and collaborations behind Halcyon. Before the interval Lang interviewed ensemble co-founder mezzo-soprano Jenny Duck-Chong ‘fireside chat’ style, which gave the audience a lovely and insightful peek into Halcyon’s long and prestigious history in Australia’s art music scene.
The concert began in miniature, with a series of duets, each one a different coupling of instrument and voice, giving a fleeting taste of each ensemble’s colour. The ensemble’s media material described the duet as, “The equality of two unique melodic voices… the perfect vessel for storytelling, welcoming audiences into a delicate, yet conversational soundscape.” – it was not wrong.
Nature Changes at the Speed of Life, for cello and soprano, written for Halcyon’s Kingfisher project was the last work of Nigel Butterley completed before his passing in 2022. Butterley was particularly attracted by the capabilities of voice in an ensemble, and the ‘potential of words to be sung by a person – not just a voice – but a person.’ Jane Sheldon’s person literally sparkled and was paired beautifully in music by cellist James Larsden as they depicted the blooming and decay of life from Kathleen Raine’s poetic text.
Ross Edwards’ The Forest is one of his most poignant offerings, a setting of Judith Wright’s poetry, the tale of a foreign, strange place, shifting into the familiar beneath time’s relentless passage. Elegant poetry from both Jenny Duck-Chong, who has a deep connection to Edwards’ music, and Jo Allan on piano.
While largely Australian programming Halcyon’s concerts often feature international giants of new music. American composer Elliott Carter’s Alba (1952) from Poems of Louis Zukofsky was a quiet awakening, hushed and sparsely atmospheric. John Lewis’ clarinet seemed to converge with Sheldon, weaving their voices into a harmonious tapestry of sound. They remained on stage for the next duet, a masterpiece of word painting, Fire in Leaf and Grass, a David Lumsdaine composition (possibly an Australian premiere) that veritably crackled and flicked between the musicians.
Alisha Redmond’s a dance with a jelly-fish can only be described as sublimely ‘jellyfish-like’. Playful bubbling arpeggios and pizzicato from the cello coupled with vocal glissandi we were swept along by the current. Redmond’s work was the newest on the program, written as part of Halcyon’s First Stones program in 2022, an initiative designed to support the development of new vocal works from Australian composers.
From these fleeting pieces the concert blossomed into more expansive works for quartets and trios…
Fracture from NZ composer Rachel Clement is a direct response to a text by Lissa Meridian evoking the sounds of insects. The combination of Duck-Chong’s perfect diction, ticks, flicks and purrs, imitating insect wings and flautist Jane Bishop’s ‘flutter tonguing’ was highly effective. spider spindles, scatter and smatter, glittering spikes of glimmerlight... this was a text calling out to be sung aloud.
The next work, Ariel’s Hail was Halcyon’s dedication to Kaija Saariaho, a hugely important figure in the world of art music, who passed away in June 2023. Borrowing again from the group’s media material, “Her ethereal images conjure scenes from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, which tremble under her spidery, elegiac writing”. The addition of Rowan Phemister’s harp to the flute and voice made the ensemble sound magical and theatrical.
Rósalind Page’s Claire De Lune, taken from her Apollinairesongs, shimmered. The piano began with an almost familiar ‘claire de lune’ melody which evolved into the delicious full sound of cello, voice and clarinet in equal measures, making ‘every moonbeam a ray of honey’.
The final work of the program premiered at Halcyon’s 2018 concert, which by coincidence I attended. I recall being transfixed by the narrative and the innovation of the lyrics, it was the first time had heard Elliott Gyger’s work and since then I have eagerly sought out concerts featuring his compositions. This Kind of Life is a jewel in the crown of an enduring collaboration between Gyger and Halcyon. Written for Halcyon’s co-founders, soprano Alison Morgan and Jenny Duck-Chong, it is “an artful celebration of friendship, and every element of its existence is a testament to the currents and connections that sustain Halcyon”.
This Kind of Life, scored for soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, cello, piano and harp, is a setting of correspondence between celebrated American chef Julia Child and Avis DeVoto, dating from the 1950’s. It describes an evolving friendship – initially, each singer is supported by two instruments but as the work progresses the ensembles blend and the vocal lines overlap. It culminates in the pair finally meeting in person, when the vocal parts melt away into a delightfully warm final instrumental gesture. An enduring message of friendship crafted from simplicity and the mundane to the exciting moments of everyday life (and yes, with lots of culinary allusions). It’s not often you go to see Australian art music and get to take home a few recipes. Immensely touching and such an appropriate choice to end the concert.
Jenny Duck-Chong spoke about vocal chamber music as music that opens your ears. That has certainly been true for me, but it also opens the heart. The proximity of the performers allows for a personal connection that transcends the confines of larger concert settings, but I do think this music deserves far grander audiences – if you get a chance to see Halcyon, go, you will be enriched.
Congratulations on 25 years Halcyon!
