Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Psalm 6 -Vicki Hallett.

Psalm 6 from a series of “Psalms” which formed the album “Inside the Basilica”, a spontaneously composed sonic sounding of St Mary of the Angels Basilica, Geelong, Australia, in April 2017.

Haven – Huw Morgan (b. 1975) for organ.   

After the following text…

“The sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest, where she may lay her young.”

De Spiritu Sancto by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (solo clarinet and organ) arranged and performed by Vicki Hallett and Frank De Rosso.  Hildegard was a medieval Abbess, writer, polymath, visionary and composer. De Spiritu Sancto is a Psalm praising the Holy Spirit. This non-metrical plainchant uses melisma and repetitions of motifs to create a sense of peace and devotion. In today’s purely instrumental version, the organ and clarinet create a reverent interplay highlighting the unique sonic resonances of the Basilica.

Leaves – Huw Morgan (b.1975) for Organ, electronic sound track.                

The structure of this work is essentially an entropic one. The organ plays a series of chords that form a palindrome – towards the end, the electronics takes a pitch or two from the chords and starts to erode it. The next time the organ plays the chords, they are missing those pitches – the process occurs four times in total, at the end of which all the organ pitches have been passed to the electronics and eroded, leaving just silence.

Images by Jane Bashiruddin

Terra Firma - Vicki Hallett.

Terra Firma is a long-form electroacoustic and live performance piece that draws its sonic inspiration from the vibrant environment of the Ecuadorian Amazon. 

To capture the subtle and dynamic soundscape of the forest as it unfolded throughout the night, we placed recorders and microphones beneath protective shelters of leaves, palm fronds, and branches, skillfully constructed by our guides. To further explore the living world of the forest, I installed hydrophones within the roots of a large tree, to reveal its internal resonance. Throughout the work, the presence of our guides is felt, not only in their voices, but also in the rhythmic and textural sounds of machetes, and the distinctive calls of unique birds immerse the listener in an intimate Amazonian sound world.

The clarinet serves as a personal reflection and response to this immersive experience, weaving live musical interpretation into the environmental tapestry and inviting the audience to engage in a profound dialogue between nature and self. 

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website

Featured artists

• Performer Vicki Hallett
• Performer Frank De Rosso