Music, She Wrote: Concert 1
Moirai Ensemble | Mother Lines
20th March 2024, Tempo Rubato, Brunswick, VIC
Music, She Wrote is back for its fourth year, fresh and inventive as ever under the leadership of Artistic Director Katie Yap. With a focus on the role of women in oral and musical tradition and the importance of memory in passing on culture, this year’s festival is titled Mother Memory.
The first concert of three – Mother Lines – was the debut of Melbourne’s brand-new ensemble, Moirai. The convergence of an ensemble debut and a festival opener was a special occasion, and the excitement for this group was palpable amongst Tempo Rubato’s audience.
Moirai consists of Meg Cohen (violin and artistic director), David Moran (cello), and Alexander Meagher (percussion). Their unique instrumentation untethers them from a particular time or genre; they are equally fit to reimagine a medieval folk tune as an arrangement of 20th century Amy Beach.
Mother Line’s program was an eclectic one, ranging from the 9th century through to the present. Moirai slipped through the centuries with ease, adopting each’s character and affectations wholeheartedly.
Meg welcomed the audience with a piece for solo violin, Ko’u inoa (‘My name is’). This beautiful and circular work shifted through suspended harmonies, with hummed and sung notes alongside Meg’s playing creating an ethereal sound.
The trio’s first work was Amy Beach’s Hush, baby dear. In this gentle 20th century lullaby, glassy violin harmonics and chiming vibraphone shivered around the rich cello melody. This was emblematic of Moirai’s sound: capable of a full warmth yet never far away from something unexpected or biting. They weren’t afraid to push the boundaries, as demonstrated in Mary Dering’s A False Designe to be Cruel, in which snarling ponticello effects grated in the extreme.
Meg and David’s ornamentation in Aleotti’s set of baroque songs was delightfully expressive. Pulsing bows, fluttering trills and colourful grace notes made these pieces dance. A more literal dance was A Cahntar by 12th century troubadour Beatriz De Dia, where Alexander’s sprightly drum beat kept up a compelling pulse.
Moirai balanced the variety of the first half with an extensive meditation in the second. Alice Chance’s Heirloom unfurled over a dream-like half hour. This intriguing work blended a recorded track with Moirai’s live performance, featuring the voices of fifteen women from five different families. They sang and spoke, telling stories of treasured objects passed down through generations. ‘You are slipping away from me’ was the sung refrain, layered over and over, echoing and repeating. Was the work acknowledging the inevitability of loss? Or celebrating the enduring legacy of motherhood? Was it a gratitude or a lament? These questions were never answered, but they were beautiful to ponder.
A traditional Hebrew lullaby, Noumi noumi yaldati, closed the night, its simplicity bringing Mother Lines back to a focus. Moirai demonstrated themselves as thoughtful performers and careful curators, offering something totally unique with their instrumentation and artistic purpose.
With such a far-reaching and original debut concert, we are excited to see what they do next.
Photo credit: Darren James
