Waves IV

Produced by Halcyon
Recorded at Trackdown Scoring Stage 6 & 8 March, 10 & 12 April, 17 & 18 May 2017
Engineering and editing: Evan McHugh
Editing, mixing and mastering: Daniel Brown
Photo: Linden Gledhill
Graphic design: Liz Duck-Chong

Digital release by Halcyon on 1 June 2019
CD release by Halcyon on 31 August 2019

Available as mp3 download from the Halcyon store
Available as CD from the Halcyon store
Available for streaming here

For additional audio and video material click here

Waves IV, the latest in Halcyon’s ongoing series of self-released EPs, features significant contemporary works for voice by three distinctive Australian composers: Larry Sitsky, Ross Edwards and Matthew Hindson.  Though different in style and timbre, they share a common theme - humans drawn to contemplation by nature.

WORKS

• Matthew Hindson Insect Songs (1998)

• Larry Sitksy A Feast of Lanterns II: Seven songs from Chinese poetry (2015)

• Ross Edwards Five Senses: Five poems of Judith Wright (2012)

ARTISTS
Hindson: Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano,  Vladimir Gorbach guitar

Sitsky: Luke Spicer conductor, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano, Vivien Jeffery violin/viola, Geoffrey Gartner cello, Clemens Leske piano, William Jackson percussion

Edwards: Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano, Bernadette Harvey piano, Joshua Hill percussion

This recording project was supported by Creative Partnerships Australia MATCH funding program.

The Art of Disappearing

Audio Engineer and Producer: Jayson McBride
Executive Producer: Cameron Lam
Record Label: Kammerklang
Cover Art: Luke Moseley

Released by Kammerklang on 28th May 2019

Available to buy from Bandcamp and to listen on Spotify

Review extracts

“How fortunate for any composer, young or old, to have one of the doyen of Australian art song performers, Jenny Duck-Chong as your musical protagonist.”

Alan Holley, Classikon, February 2020

Holland-Batt’s words are given life by mezzo-soprano Jenny Duck-Chong, co-founder of Halcyon. Her beautifully measured delivery and bell-like purity works with the strings so well that at times it seems all might be emanating from the same breath.

Lisa MacKinney, Limelight October 2019

“The soundscape is minimalist. Duck-Chong’s beautifully rounded voice is incisive yet gentle and she sings with impeccable diction. Amply suited to contemporary style, her voice joins the quartet as another instrument, straddling wild leaps in register and unerring in pitch.”

Shamistha de Soysa, Sounds Like Sydney, June 2019

“Lam writes with assured confidence for Duck-Chong’s clear warm mezzo-soprano voice and the result is a perfect partnership of words, melody, emotion and cerebral contemplation.”

Victoria Watson, Sounds Like Sydney, June 2019

Click here to read more

The Art of Disappearing is a song cycle meditating on the nature of grief. Slowly transforming from stasis - where is everything is arresting and alien - grief doesn't leave. It becomes an important and empathetic part of us, as we learn to move again.

The fifth portrait album from Sydney composer, Cameron Lam, weaves together the timbre and expressive depth of mezzo soprano Jenny Duck-Chong and the vibrant connection of the Geist String Quartet to paint a delicate response to the rhythmic and intensely musical poetry of Sarah Holland-Batt's first book, Aria.

TRACK LIST

1. The Art of Disappearing I 04:56

2. Tracery 07:19

3. Synchronised Time (from String Quartet No.2 "Time Echoes Your Sound") 06:14

4. Meditation on the Plums I 04:00

5. Scattered Like A Broken Crusader (from String Quartet No.2 "Time Echoes Your Sound") 04:20

6. Elegie 06:34

7. Athenian Jar 03:42

8. Silence Resonating Into Sound (from String Quartet No.2 "Time Echoes Your Sound") 05:50

9. Enduring Ritual 06:27

10. Meditation on the Plums II 04:10

11. That Which Was Always There (from String Quartet No.2 "Time Echoes Your Sound") 05:16

12. The Art of Disappearing II 05:38

ARTISTS
Composer: Cameron Lam
Poet: Sarah Holland-Batt

Mezzo soprano: Jenny Duck-Chong (Halcyon)
Geist String Quartet:
Violin I - Sonia Wilson
Violin II - Mia Stanton
Viola - Hayasa Tanaka
Violoncello - James Larsen

From the Hungry Waiting Country

Recording dates: 14 & 15 August 2009 (FTHWC), 27 May 2011 (PT), 1 & 2 October 2014 (GV)
Recorded at Trackdown Scoring Stage by Daniel Brown (FTHWC, PT, GV) and Evan McHugh (GV)
Mastering by Christo Curtis
Produced by Halcyon
Photo © Richard Woldendorp "Forrest River, Kimberley, WA"
Cover design: Elizabeth Duck-Chong

Released byTall Poppies on 6th August 2018
TP258

Available to buy from Tall Poppies or the Halcyon store

For more reviews, audio and video material click here

“Singers Jenny Duck-Chong and Alison Morgan, aka Halcyon, have been quietly getting on with making tricky and beautiful things for two decades now. For this, their latest CD, they return to the music of Elliot Gyger, a composer, colleague and co-creator who has been with them throughout their journey. It is a potent combination: Gyger juggles words, notes, jokes and observations, meanings and warnings with uncanny skill, creating something at once complex and as clear as still water; Duck-Chong and Morgan take his ideas and make them dance with deceptive ease. “

Harriet Cunningham, The Sydney Morning Herald, January 2019

A tour-de-force of vocal writing and the culmination of more than a decade of collaboration, From the Hungry Waiting Country features three important works by Elliott Gyger written for Halcyon: giving voice for mezzo and ensemble, Petit Testament for two voices and piano and the title track, From the hungry waiting country for four voices and harp. 

TRACK LIST

• giving voice (2012)
  1. Movements 1-4 2. Movements 5-8

• Petit Testament (2008)

• From the hungry waiting country (2006)
  4. Part One: Wet 5. Part Two: Dry

ARTISTS
Roland Peelman conductor, Matthew Coorey conductor, Alison Morgan soprano,  Belinda Montgomery soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano, Jo Burton mezzo-soprano, Sally Walker alto flute/piccolo, Alexandre Oguey oboe/cor anglais, Genevieve Lang harp, Sally Whitwell piano, Vladimir Gorbach guitar, Ewan Foster viola, Geoffrey Gartner cello

This Moment Must Be Sung

Recorded at Trackdown December 2013-February 2016
Engineer: Daniel Brown
Produced by Halcyon
Mastered by Utopia Audio
Cover photo: Linden Gledhill
Cover graphic: Liz Duck-Chong

Released by Tall Poppies on 1 May 2018
TP250

Available to buy from Tall Poppies or the Halcyon store.

For audio extracts and reviews click here

Halcyon’s new CD This Moment Must Be Sung showcases recent vocal works by Andrew Schultz and features three substantial song cycles: To the Evening Star (winner of the 2009 Paul Lowin Song Cycle prize) for soprano and piano, I am writing in this book for soprano, mezzo-soprano, cello, double bass, percussion, harp and piano and Paradise for soprano, cello and piano (runner-up in the 2016 Lowin prize) alongside three shorter works: Lake Moonrise for mezzo-soprano, bass clarinet, cello and percussion (from Halcyon’s Kingfisher project), I am Black for soprano and piano and Dark Chair for soprano, mezzo-soprano, clarinet, double bass and percussion.  You can read program notes for the pieces here and reviews of some of the works here

In Schultz’s own words: “Throughout my career I have returned time and again to vocal music. My interest is in both the words and the music and the ways in which they can complement each other and thereby enlarge the meaning and communication of each alone. So it is not surprising that I have been drawn to rich texts, old and new, and also sought to adapt and create texts that enable me the freedom to express my own personal experience. This disc presents a cross-section of my vocal music in the expert hands of Halcyon.”

TRACK LIST

• I am writing in this book op. 88
  1. A gift of paper 2. Secret meetings 3. Language of women 4. I see the word 'storm' 5. It is getting dark

• Lake moonrise op. 94

• Paradise op. 95
  7. Suspended earth 8. Safety glass 9. Child, who are you? 10. Jigsaw 11. Almost flight

• I am black op. 63a

• To the Evening Star
  13. Lake Isle of Innisfree 14. Pied Beauty 15. Mezzo Cammin 16. Money, O! 17. To the evening star

• Dark Chair op. 47c

ARTISTS
Luke Spicer conductor, Alison Morgan soprano,  Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano, Jason Noble clarinet, Geoffrey Gartner cello, Anna Martin-Scrase cello, Jennifer Druery double bass, Kirsty McCahon double bass, William Jackson percussion, Rowan Phemister harp, Chris Cartner piano, Sally Whitwell piano

War Letters

Recorded on 14 and 15 November 2015 at the Performance Space, Western Sydney University. 
Engineered  and mastered by Michael Macken.
Produced by Diana Blom and Jenny Duck-Chong
Cover design: Liz Duck-Chong

CD available for sale by Halcyon here
CD also available through Wirrpang

Listen to samples from the full CD at Wirrpang here

Read the full notes and texts from the concert program here

Released by Wirripang on 9 December 2016

The project of concerts and CD recording was made possible through the ANZAC Centenary Local Grants Program.

For review click here

War Letters, released by Wirripang (Wirr 074), features four newly commissioned works by four generations of Australian composers - Larry Sitksy, Diana Blom, Elliott Gyger and Nicole Murphy.  Drawing their texts from the writings of ordinary ANZACs serving in WWI, the thoughts, reflections and feelings expressed in these personal letters are as fresh today as they were 100 years ago.

The War Letters project was instigated by composer Diana Blom, who, inspired by the writings of her own great uncle Frank Robinson, wanted to tell personal stories of every day men and women in wartime.

TRACK LIST

• Elliott Gyger Un poilu australien (2015)

• Nicole Murphy Dearest Mother ...' (2015)

• Larry Sitsky Letter from the Trenches (2015)

• Diana Blom Triptych (war letters) (2015)

ARTISTS
Alison Morgan soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano, Clive Birch bass, James Wannan viola, Jo Allan piano and Kaylie Dunstan percussion with Geoffrey Gartner conductor (Gyger)

Waves III

Recorded at Trackdown Scoring Stage, Sydney Sept 2013 and July 2014
Engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Brown
Produced by Halcyon
Cover photo: Michael Chetham
Cover graphic: Elizabeth Duck-Chong

Available as a CD from Halcyon here.
Available as an mp3 download from Halcyon here.
Also available as mp3 from cdbaby

Click here to download the full texts of the works.
Click here to download the notes and bios.

Released by Halcyon on 29 November 2016

For audio and video links click here

The third of Halcyon’s EP releases, Waves III features two new song cycles by Australian composers Raffaele Marcellino and Nigel Butterley. 

Commissioned by Halcyon, both works focus on a figure from Greek mythology and feature texts by contemporary Australian poets. A Strange Kind of Paradise (2010), for four female voices and harp, by Raffaele Marcellino centres on abandoned Ariadne, with poems by Jordie Albiston. Scored for mezzo-soprano, soprano, flute, clarinet, oboe, violin, viola, cello and guitar, Nigel Butterley’s Orphei Mysteria (2008), sets poems by Patricia Excell which explore elements of the Orpheus myth. 

TRACK LIST

• Nigel Butterley Orphei Mysteria (2008)

• Raffaele Marcellino A Strange Kind of Paradise (2013)

ARTISTS
BUTTERLEY:  Matthew Wood conductor, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Alison Morgan soprano, Sally Walker flutes, Peter Smith clarinets, Alexandre Oguey oboe/cor anglais, Giuseppe Zangari guitar, Victoria Jacono-Gilmovich violin, James Wannan viola, Geoffrey Gartner cello
MARCELLINO: Alison Morgan soprano  Belinda Montgomery soprano  Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo-soprano  Jo Burton  mezzo-soprano  Genevieve Lang harp  

Kingfisher - songs for Halcyon

The long-awaited Kingfisher CD is now out.  Released through Tall Poppies, the CD features 21 new commissions written in 2013-14 in celebration of Halcyon's 15th birthday.  An outstanding collection which showcases the richness of Australian contemporary writing for voice and chamber ensemble.

TRACK LIST

1. Andrew Ford: To My Excellent Lucasia, on our Friendship [2:42]

2. Stuart Greenbaum: Opalescence [4:00]

3. Paul Stanhope: My Love in Her Attire [1:38]

4. Elliott Gyger: The Pleiades at Midnight [4:27]

5. Stephen Adams: Sometimes snow fell, sometimes darkness... [3:43]

6. Jane Stanley: Round the Bay [3:31]

7. Graham Hair: All About Anna [4:06]

8. Rosalind Page: Aquila’s wing [2:49]

9. Nicholas Vines: A King’s Manifesto [6:01]

10. Katy Abbott: Follow Me Through the Shadow [2:57]

11. Dan Walker: The Mystic Blue [3:40]

12. Ross Edwards: The Tranquil Mind [3:16]

13. Kevin March: Sea-blue Bird [4:07]

14. Sharon Calcraft: Verathmende, Schillernde, Blitzende... [3:09]

15. Andrew Schultz: Lake Moonrise, Op. 94 [3:56]

16. Gordon Kerry: Music (La Musique) [2:59]

17. Raffaele Marcellino: Turbulent Passions Calm [3:43]

18. John Peterson: See, the Prismatic Colors Glisten [4:47]

19. Nigel Butterley: Nature Changes at the Speed of Life [2:41]

20. Moya Henderson: I Lost a World the Other Day [3:38]

21. Gillian Whitehead: All One Water [4:24]

ARTISTS

Alison Morgan soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Laura Chislett Jones piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute Jason Noble clarinet, bass clarinet, Geoffrey Gartner cello, William Jackson & Joshua Hill percussion

Recorded at Trackdown Scoring Stage, Sydney in May-July 2014.  Engineered and mixed by Daniel Brown.

Mastered by Christo Curtis, Utopia Audio.

Cover photograph: Lorenzo Cortelletti  Cover design: Elizabeth Duck-Chong

Available through Tall Poppies or Halcyon.

Read The Australian  & Sounds LIke Sydney reviews

The Domestic Sublime

Available as a CD from Katy Abbott and the Australian Music Centre, or digitally on iTunes

Released by Leeward Side Records 2013

Digital release by ABC Classics 2014

The Domestic Sublime - The Vocal Music of Katy Abbott (LS 1302)

Halcyon performs No Ordinary Traveller (2006) - song cycle for mezzo, clarinet, percussion and piano. Note: the full song cycle features on Sunburnt Aftertones.

CD also features performances by Greta Bradman, Leigh Harrold, and the Song Company.

Artists: Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Diana Springford clarinet, Daryl Pratt percussion, Jo Allan piano

Waves II

Waves II is Halcyon's second release of studio recordings featuring two radiant Australian works - Ross Edwards' Maninya I (1981/86) for mezzo soprano and cello and Dan Walker's King Ludwig's Swans (2004/2009) for 4 female voices and harp, commissioned by Halcyon in 2004.

TRACK LIST

1. Ross Edwards Maninya I

2-6. Dan Walker King Ludwig’s Swans

ARTISTS

Alison Morgan soprano, Belinda Montgomery soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Jo Burton mezzo soprano, Genevieve Lang harp, Geoffrey Gartner cello  

Recorded at Trackdown Scoring Stage, Sydney in 2011-2012.  Engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Brown.

Available as mp3 from cdbaby and itunes and CD from Halcyon

Read the Music Trust review here.

Waves I

Elliott Gyger's Petit Testament (2008) for soprano, mezzo and piano and Andrew Ford's Willow Songs (2009) for soprano, mezzo, flute/piccolo/alto flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, percussion and piano. Both works were conceived for the two versatile voices of Halcyon - who feature as soloists, in duo and sometimes even masquerading as each other.

TRACK LIST

1. Petit Testament

2. Willow Songs

ARTISTS

Mark Shiell conductor Alison Morgan soprano Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano Sally Walker flutes Jason Noble clarinets John Douglas percussion Sally Whitwell piano

Recorded at Trackdown Scoring Stage Sydney September 2009 & May 2011. Engineered, mixed and mastered by Daniel Brown.

Available as mp3 from cdbaby and CD from Halcyon (link to info@halcyon.org.au.

Read the Music Trust review here.

A Vision of Wildflowers

Recorded at The Simon Leadley Scoring Stage, Trackdown Studios, Sydney by Daniel Brown, 2010. 

Available as a CD  from Halcyon
Also available from the Australian Music Centre

Released by Ruth Lee Martin 2011

For audio clip click here

Vocal and choral music by Ruth Lee Martin

Halcyon performs Wimmera Song Cycle (2010) - song cycle for soprano, mezzo, flute, cello and piano. 

CD also features performances by Trinity College Choir, University of Melbourne

Artists:  Alison Morgan soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Sally Walker flute, Geoffrey Gartner cello, Sally Whitwell piano

Sunburnt Aftertones

This CD of the chamber music of Katy Abbott  captures the dulcet tones of Halcyon,  alongside Collision Theory with Caerwen Martin , Syzygy Ensemble, Mark Gaydon and Barry Cockcroft ,Jessica Voigt and Joseph Lallo Halcyon performs No Ordinary Traveller (2006) - song cycle for mezzo and mixed trio. Commissioned by Halcyon in 2006.

ARTISTS

Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Diana Springford clarinet, Daryl Pratt percussion, Jo Allan piano

Recorded at Trackdown Studios, Sydney by Daniel Brown, 2010.  Produced by Haig Burnell.  Edited by Haig Burnell and Tom Grubb.

Available as CD from Halcyon and Katy Abbott.

Cool Black

Chamber Works by Rosalind Page

Cool Black (MCD396) features three chamber song cycles by Australian composer. Each has its own unique language - both linguistically and musically. apollinairesongs draws on the poetry of Guillaume Apollinare, Hrafnsöngvar the poetry of Hrafn Andrés Harŏarson and Sonetos del amor oscuro, winner of the Paul Lowin Song Cycle Award, 2006, the poetry of Federco García Lorca.  

TRACK LIST

Apollinairesongs

1. le pont Mirabeau

2. toujours

3. claire de lune

4. l'univers

Hrafnsövar

5. Ì upphafi

6. Morgunn

7. tónfygli - fuglar himins

8. Lífiŏ sjálft

9. Spá

10. fuglagiŏ - Perluregn

11. Ó, Fró, bín móŏir

Sonetos de Amor Oscuro

12. El poeta habla por teléfono con el amor

13. Noche del amor insomne

14. Soneto de la guirnalda de rosas

15. Llagas de amor

16. El poeta pide a su amor que le escriba

ARTISTS

Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Alison Morgan soprano, Mark Shiell conductor, Roland Peelman conductor, Laura Chislett Jones flutes, Diana Springford clarinet, Nicole Forsyth viola, Clemens Leske piano, Patrick Murphy cello, Genevieve Lang harp, Ben van Tienen celeste, Tommie Andersson lute, baroque guitar, theorbo, Daryl Pratt percussion, Claire Edwardes percussion, Kirsty McCahon double bass, Rosalind Page balinese gong, soundtrack

Recorded and engineered at Trackdown Digital by Daniel Brown, Sept 2007-February 2008.  Edited and mixed by Daniel Brown, Rosalind Page and Halcyon.  Mastered by Kathy Naunton, dB Mastering. Produced by Halcyon and AVT.

Available as CD from Halcyon, the Australian Music Centre and Buywell and as an mp3 from the Australian Music Centre

Dark Love

Chamber music, where just a few instruments come together, is the best kept secret of the music world. The listener can delight in hearing with immense clarity all the colours of a rich sonic landscape; add some exotic and obscure instruments and you have a veritable feast of sound. In this final performance for 2004, Halcyon presented a luxurious program of Spanish, American and Australian chamber music, featuring the poetry of Spanish Federico Garcia Lorca, Basque Bernardo Atxaga and the Indian 16th century poetess Mirabai.

Track List

1-6.John Harbison  Mirabai Songs

7-10.George Crumb Night of the Four Moons

11-15.Rosalind Page Sonetos del amor oscuro (World premiere)

16-19.Gabriel Erkoreka  Bizitza (Australian premiere)

Artists: Roland Peelman conductor, Alison Morgan soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano  Laura Chislett Jones alto flute, piccolo Steve Meyer flute, piccolo Diana Springford clarinets, Matthew Ockenden bassoon, Michael Hooper banjo, Tommie Andersson lutes, baroque guitar, theorbo, Vanessa Souter harp, Daryl Pratt percussion, John Douglas percussion, Sophie Cole violin, Nicole Forsyth viola, Deborah Coogan cello, electric cello, Helen Cosgrove double bass

Recorded live by ABC Classic FM.  Producer: Stephen Adams  Engineer: Christian Huff-Johnston

Available as CD from Halcyon or cdbaby.com

Sirens

Recorded live at Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, July 2004 by ABC Classic FM.

No longer available

The allure of the female voice has long been recognised as having irresistible charm.  Throughout history many legends tell of sailors being lured to their deaths by the dangerous but beautiful sounds of mermaids, sirens or nymphs.  According to Greek mythology Odysseus stuffed his companions’ ears with wax and had himself lashed to the mast of his ship so he and his crew could resist the rich and seductive power of the Sirens’ song.  

Track List

1-3 Dan Walker King Ludwig’s Swans

4. Kerry Andrew luna-cy

5-9 Ruth Lee Martin Carmina Gaedelica

10-11Kaija Saariaho  Nej och inte

12. Edward McGuire  Celtic Knotwork

13-17.Graham Hair  O Venezia Part 1

Artists

Alison Morgan soprano, Belinda Montgomery soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Jo Burton mezzo soprano, Genevieve Lang harp

Closeups

Recorded live at Trackdown Scoring Stage, Fox Studios, Sydney, June 2004  Engineer/editor: Patrick Mullins Assistant editor: Daniel Brown

Available as CD from Halcyon, CD and mp3 from cdbaby.com and mp3 from itunes,

CLOSE UPS was a highlight of 2004 for Halcyon; an intimate program bringing together just a handful of artists for each work, set in the beautiful acoustic of Trackdown Scoring Stage, and accompanied towards the end by a fantastical Sydney rain storm.

Track list

1. Kaija Saariaho Du gick , flög

2. Rachel Clement Fracture

3. Sally Beamish Buzz

4. -6. Edison Denisov Archipel de songes

7-8 Libby Larsen Do you know and Liebeslied From Beloved, thou hast brought me flowers

9. Jonathan Harvey Lullaby for the Unsleeping

10-11 Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki Good Night , (movt 2 & 3)

Dai Fujikura Still sweet…

13-17.Earl Kim Now and then

18. Ross Harris …inside the rainbow air…

19.Fung Lam Amitabha (World premiere)

Artists: Alison Morgan soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano , Steven Meyer flutes , Alexandre Oguey cor anglais , Alison Eddington percussion , Sally Whitwell piano , Lucy O'Shea harp , Alex Norton violin , Nicole Forsyth viola , Sally Maer cello