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