This complex, multi layered performance by The Song Company was filmed at the Cell Block Theatre , Sydney and streamed by the Australian Digital Concert Hall , as part of their national tour .
Directed by Robert MacFarlane and Antony Pitts, it was strong and powerful, blending the music and dance .There were some exciting special lighting effects .In some ways it could be read as an acknowledgement of Indigenous Peoples , their suffering and links to Country .Or , another way of viewing it is how you possibly can be a refugee in your own country.
The music blended Dietrich Buxtehude’s Seventeeth century Membra Jesu Nostri and I pray the sea by Australian composer Chris Williams, commissioned with funding from the Silo Collective and setting words from No Friend But the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani.
In Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri , his profound Baroque gathering of seven cantatas for voices and instruments, he contemplates various parts of Christ’s crucified body as a paradox for His suffering and grace. Each of the cantatas consists of ensembles, arias, chorus and instrumental pieces. The seven cantatas manifest both the spiritual and physical layers of the Crucifixion , representing Christ’s suffering and reminding us that suffering is included in our lives and our bodies and minds can slowly wear out.
At times the music surged, flowed and resonated. The chorus was finely burnished with smooth equilibrium and the arias were vibrant. Mention must be made of a special trio accompanying the Buxtehude – namely electronic keyboard (Pitts), electric viola da gamba (Jenny Eriksson) and jazz saxophones (Hylton Mowday)
I Pray the Sea, by Chris Williams, included text from Kurdish Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani’s No Friend But the Mountains, chronicling his detention by Australia on Manus Island .The five movements of Williams’ piece , short fragments and a larger section , were fast, bubbling and spiky and given an aminated , energetic performance that at times crackled and popped.
Choroegraphed by Thomas E.S.Kelly of Karul Projects , barefoot dancer Neville Williams -Boney a Wiradjuri man, prowls through the audience and also interacts with the Company , at times performing in front of them , other times directly beside/behind them .With sinuous swoops ,swirls and striking poses the dance blended Contemporary dance with traditional Indigenous dance.
Williams-Boney also draws on a piece of paper placed on an easel at the side of the stage then later furiously tears it up .Williams-Boney in the sixth cantata wears a red lamp that pulsates and throbs close to his heart – a symbol of his love of Country ?It also reinforces the idea of dislocation. The singers sang their arias as if opposing him, while he expressed self – respect , contradiction, consternation and bewilderment .
A compelling , thought provoking, challenging performance.
Running time just under 90 minutes no interval
Amy Moore Principal Artist – Soprano
Brianna Louwen Guest Artist – Soprano
Stephanie Dillon Principal Artist – Mezzo-soprano
Robert Macfarlane Guest Artist – Tenor & Director
Thomas Flint Principal Artist – Bass
Hylton Mowday Guest Artist – Saxophones
Jenny Eriksson Guest Artist, The Marais Project – Electric Viola da gamba
Thomas E.S. Kelly Karul Projects – Choreographer
Neville WiIliams-Boney – Dancer
Antony Pitts Artistic Director – Rhodes & Conductor
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEITH SAUNDERS