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28 November 2012

AMC now the one-stop shop for Melba, Tall Poppies, MOVE and Wirripang

New Melba releases featuring Australian piano trios and the poetry of Brisbane


AMC now the one-stop shop for Melba, Tall Poppies, MOVE and Wirripang

Australian recording label Melba have recently released two new recordings of Australian music, Benaud Trio, featuring Australian piano trios, and a cycle of poems by Samuel Wagan Watson, with musical responses by Brisbane composers, Smoke Encrypted Whispers. Through a new partnership with Melba, these recordings and the entire Melba catalogue are now available to purchase through the Australian Music Centre. Together with our established partnerships with Tall Poppies, MOVE, Jade and Wirripang, a large portion of Australian music available on CD can now be found in one place, making this music readily accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Album Cover 'Benaud Trio'

Benaud Trio, the self-titled, debut release from 2005 Australian Chamber Music Competition winners, presents four recent Australian piano trios from 1998 to 2010. The recording opens with Ross Edwards's Piano Trio, which utilises influences of song and dance often evident in Edwards's music. In Dolcissimo Uscignolo, Paul Stanhope uses the Monteverdi madrigal of the same name as source material that is recombined to create a contemplative outer-structure surrounding a frenetic and technically challenging inner section. Jumping from the influence of the 16th century to that of contemporary popular music styles, Matthew Hindson's Piano Trio uses elements from genres such as trance music and electronic-based dance anthems in a new approach to working within the traditions of the popular classical and romantic Piano Trio form. The final work on the disc Trailer Music, by young Melbourne-based composer, Nicholas Buc, plays on his experience working across film, TV and classical composition in creating a work that evokes the condensed journey of the film trailer experience in a humorous nod to this pastiche form.

In a very different musical experience, Smoke Encrypted Whispers presents narration of the award-winning poetry anthology of the same name, interleaved with musical responses from a diverse range of composers. Initiated by Paul Dean and the Southern Cross Soloists, the project involves 23 different composers based or born in Brisbane, ranging from those at the beginning of their career through to composers who have long made a mark on the musical landscape.

Watson's anthology has been described as a 'personal dreamtime' and references his experiences growing up in suburban Brisbane. Each composer was given a specific poem from the series and asked to create a direct musical response. Utilising a diverse range of instrument combinations within the ensemble, across woodwind, piano and voice, the music features a range of textures throughout the recording, tied together by narration by Ron Haddrick. According to Vincent Plush in his The Australian review 'The result is a sonic tapestry of contemporary Brisbane, as torpid as a summer day, as threatening as a thundershower.' (Weekend Australian 27/10/2012).

The featured composers are Tom Adeney, Damien Barbeler, William Barton, Betty Beath, Gerard Brophy, Lisa Cheney, Peter Clark, Stephen Cronin, Robert Davidson, Paul Dean, Louise Denson, John Gilfedder, Ralph Hultgren, Stephen Leek, Michael Knopf, Mary Mageau, Freeman McGrath, Richard Mills, Sean O'Boyle, Peter Rankine, Marianne Scholem, Stephen Stanfield and Toby Wren.

Melba's previous releases featuring the music of Australian composers include Through a glass darkly, with chamber works by Roger Smalley, and Gothic Toccata, which presents solo organ works by 10 Australian composers, including the title track, Graeme Koehne's well-known Gothic Toccata. Phoenix Story takes its title from Elena Kats-Chernin's cello duet, and G.W.L. Marshall-Hall's music is included on the CD Rhapsodie, fantasie, poème : music for horn & orchestra.

The full Melba catalogue, including these titles, can now be purchased through the Australian Music Centre.

Further links

Review of Smoke Encrypted Whispers on The Australian's website

All CDs available from the AMC

Browse CDs from Tall Poppies

Browse CDs from MOVE



Janine Marshman is the AMC's Online Business Manager. She has a background spanning business and marketing and the performing arts: she has a Master of Commerce, majoring in marketing, and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in music performance, both completed at the University of Sydney.


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