Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

An immersive evocation of the Victorian Volcanic Plains Grasslands, Grasslands Suite features the haunting sounds of Hindustani sarod and tabla joined by French horn, solo cello, a classical string ensemble, a grasslands ecologist and an extended duet for clarinet and piano. This world premiere is a rare opportunity to experience the suite in its entirety.

The Victorian Volcanic Plains Grasslands are a unique, richly biodiverse ecosystem once stretching from Melbourne to the Western District, which now survives in critically endangered fragments. Each of the ten movements of this suite evokes an aspect of grasslands ecology, ranging from the geological shifts in deep time which laid the basalt plains, to minute details of the fauna and flora whose intricate dance has sustained life over more than a million years. In response to the delicate textures, exquisite forms and powerful resilience of the grasslands ecosystem, the music explores a variety of contemporary techniques, favouring immersive soundscapes teeming with gesture. The work integrates improvisations drawing on the Hindustani classical tradition with through-composed notated material. A playful, virtuosic duet for clarinet and piano illustrates endemic grasslands animals and birds.

PROGRAM

Grasslands Suite world premiere

1. Grassy Plains (sonic introduction)

2. Seasons on Earth (deep time)

3. Emerging Things/Flower Sketches (Spring)

4. Seed Set (Summer)

5. Mysterious Flight (fauna)

6. Fire Mosaic (end of Summer)

7. Biomass, Autumn, Winter

8. Spring Rains - Ephemeral Wetlands

9. Wild, Resurgent (dance of the grasslands)

10. Swaying, Shimmering (tutti dance of the grasslands)

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