Audio Sample
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Performance by Jane Sheldon, Ironwood Chamber Ensemble from the CD Songs for the shadowland |
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Work Overview
Sea Chronicles is a song cycle for soprano and string quartet which celebrates various dimensions of our coastal environment. For Australians, the coast and ocean have an iconic place in our collective conscience with associations of leisure, relaxation, open-ness and possibility and also of terrifying power. Most of the texts in this piece (all by Australian poets) emphasize the celebrative and reflective qualities of the sea rather than following the European tradition of the sea as a metaphor for human struggle.
Most of the songs simply present images of the sea - pictures, in fact, for contemplation. The text of the central third movement, while also painting a vivid picture, has a stronger sense of narrative than the other texts: it plays out the drama of a Lifesaver who dies in the course of rescuing others. The Lifesaver can be viewed as a Christ-like figure (suggested by a veiled reference to the Bach chorale "O Sacred Head Sore Wounded" in the central slow section) who sacrifices himself as an upholder of the Australian coastal lifestyle. Sea Chronicles thus examines the notion of danger as being an essential part of the beauty and attraction of the sea.
Work Details
Year: 1998
Instrumentation: Soprano, 2 violins, viola, cello.
Duration: 18 min.
Difficulty: Advanced — Professional/good amateur.
Commission note: Commissioned by Elektra String Quartet.
First performance: by Morning Star String Quartet — 18 Dec 98.
Texts taken from: 'The nightingale' by Victor Daley, and 'Sea chronicles' by Rex Ingamells (song I) ; 'By the sea' by George Essex Evans (song II) ; 'Life saver' by Elizabeth Riddell (songs III and IV) ; 'The swimmer' by Adam Lindsay Gordon (song V).
Awarded 3rd prize in the Kazimierz Serocki Inernational Composition Prize (Poland) in 2000.
Analysis
Resonate article: 2012 Art Music Awards - comments by judging panels by Australian Music Centre
Subjects
- In the form/style of: Song Cycles
- Has as subject/About: Landscape and Nature
Performances of this work
7 Feb 2020: at Bendigo Chamber Music Festival: Dusk Concert 2 (Ulumbarra Theatre). Featuring Chris Howlett, Tobias Brieder, Christian Eisenberger, Sophie Rowell, Merlyn Quaife.
23 Feb 2019: at Orava Quartet & Greta Bradman (Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre). Featuring Greta Bradman, Orava Quartet.
3 Jun 2018: at Beneath the Surface: works for voice and string quartet (Chapel off Chapel). Featuring Kelsey Cotton, Luke Severn, Clare Gorton, Sarah Coghlan, Natasha Conrau.
7 Oct 2017: at A New Voice (Richmond Uniting Church). Featuring Ensemble Goldentree.
14 Oct 2016: at Castles of Refuge: Red Note and Griffyn Ensembles (National Portrait Gallery). Featuring Griffyn Ensemble, Red Note Ensemble, Susan Ellis.
27 Aug 2016: at Allotropy! with Rosemary Ball - Resonance Music Series (Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre (BACC), Brighton Town Hall). Featuring Katriona Tsyrlin, Rosemary Ball, Michelle John, Beatrix Pickett, Emma Hunt.
17 Nov 2014: at ASQ: Relativity (Conservatorium Theatre, Brisbane). Featuring Greta Bradman, Australian String Quartet.
16 Nov 2014: at ASQ: Relativity (Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia). Featuring Australian String Quartet, Greta Bradman.
13 Nov 2014: at ASQ: Relativity (City Recital Hall). Featuring Greta Bradman, Australian String Quartet.
12 Nov 2014: at ASQ: Relativity (Melbourne Recital Centre). Featuring Australian String Quartet, Greta Bradman.
11 Nov 2014: at ASQ: Relativity (Adelaide Town Hall). Featuring Australian String Quartet, Greta Bradman.
9 Nov 2014: at ASQ: Relativity (Performing Arts Centre, St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls). Featuring Australian String Quartet, Greta Bradman.
22 Apr 2013: at Greta Bradman: Transcendent (Melbourne Recital Centre, Primrose Potter Salon). Featuring Flinders Quartet, Greta Bradman.
24 Nov 2011: at Australian Landscapes (Melbourne Recital Centre, Primrose Potter Salon). Featuring Greta Bradman, Zephyr Quartet.
22 Nov 2011: at Australian Landscapes (The Meeting Hall). Featuring Greta Bradman, Zephyr Quartet.
20 Nov 2011: at Australian Landscapes (Coriole Vineyard). Featuring Zephyr Quartet, Greta Bradman.
25 Jul 2010: at Ironwood with Jane Sheldon, soprano (Biennale Performance Space). Featuring Ironwood Chamber Ensemble, Jane Sheldon.
24 Jul 2010: at Ironwood with Jane Sheldon, soprano (Biennale Performance Space). Featuring Jane Sheldon, Ironwood Chamber Ensemble.
21 Jun 00: Lutowslawski Concert Hall, Warsaw, Poland
User reviews
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My favourite Australian art song repertoire
Posted by Australian Music Centre on 22 July, 2013
The AMC asked leading practitioners to select their favourite Australian art song repertoire, to provide delegates to the 2013 International Conference of Vocal Teachers (Brisbane 2013) with an introduction to this rich and diverse landscape.
5 songs in which Stanhope takes full advantage of the range of beautiful timbral possibilities of what I think of as a dream line-up: soprano and string quartet.
Jane Sheldon