Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

This program responds to the vastness of the desert landscape and to one of the richest and oldest colours on the spectrum: red.

We open with William Barton’s Square Circles Beneath the Red Desert Sand, written about the spirits of his country, Kalkadunga country (Mount Isa). This reverberant work for didgeridoo, voice and string quartet is collaborative and improvisatory, making each performance a unique, evocative experience.

Landscape features prominently in the music of Peter Sculthorpe, one of Australia’s most well-known composers. Marked angoscioso (distressing), his striking String Quartet No. 7 is a response to a painting by Russell Drysdale that depicts a desert expanse fiercely lit by the sun.

Katy Abbott’s Re-echo for vibraphone and cello traverses both physical and emotional landscapes. This reflective piece is a reimagining of Abbott’s earlier work, The Empty Quarter, named for the vast desert region in the Arabian Peninsula.

This program also features Red, an ABC Classic commission scored for electrified steel from acclaimed sound artist Dr Ros Bandt, and a substantial new work from Noongar violist and scholar Aaron Wyatt. Dr. Ros Bandt will present a pre-concert talk at 5:30pm outlining Red’s recording and compositional process.

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on 0262 626 772 or by email to tickets@cso.org.au

Featured Australian Works

	Red : electroacoustic (2000) by Ros Bandt
	Re-echo : for vibraphone and cello (2015) by Katy Abbott — performed by CSO Chamber Players
	Square Circles Beneath the Red Desert Sand (quintets: didjeridu, 2 violins, viola, cello) by William Barton — performed by William Barton and CSO Chamber Players
	String quartet no. 7 : Red landscape : for string quartet (1966) by Peter Sculthorpe — performed by CSO Chamber Players
	The Coming Dawn : chamber ensemble by Aaron Wyatt — World premiere — performed by CSO Chamber Players

Featured artists

• Performer CSO Chamber Players
• Performer William Barton