Date: 6 October 2007
Venue: Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
LILY ON A BLACK WAVE - modern composers interpret Shakespeare
“On the calm, black wave where the stars sleep
White Ophelia floats like a great lily,
Floats slowly, slowly, slumbering in her long winding veils...”
The character of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s ominous play Hamlet has floated her way into the modern world, inspiring creative artists as diverse as Rimbaud, T.S. Eliot, Berlioz, Nick Cave and The Grateful Dead. Award-winning ensemble Halcyon premieres a new work, Ophelie, by Australian composer Kevin March together with modern musical settings from Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets by Stravinsky, Saariaho and Adès. Come and experience all the drama and passion inherent in the words of this famous bard, distilled into its musical essence.
PROGRAM
Andrew Ford - Snatches of Old Lauds from Hamlet (2002)
Igor Stravinsky - Three Songs to Shakespeare (1953)
Sally Beamish - Sonnet (1986/1998) ^
Tom James - Ophelia (2004) ^
Kevin March - Ophelie (2007) *
Juori Kaipainen - Sonnet 43 op. 43 (1994) ^
Kataryzna Glowicka - Summer's Day Sonnets (2000 rev.2004) ^
Thomas Ades - Court Studies from The Tempest (2005) ^
Andrew Ford - Epithalamium (1991) *
Evelyn Ficarra - Full Fathom Five (2002) from Submarine ^
Saariaho - The Tempest Songbook (1993-2004) ^
1. Prospero’s Vision 2. Miranda's Lament 3. Caliban's Dream 4. Ariel's Hail 5. Ferdinand's Comfort
* World Premiere ^ Australian Premiere
ARTISTS
Mark Shiell conductor, Alison Morgan soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Mark Donnelly baritone, Steve Meyer flute, Diana Springford clarinet, Veronique Serrett violin, Thomas Talmacs violin, Nicole Forsyth viola, Danny Yeadon cello, Paul Hooper mandolin, Raffaele Agostino guitar, Clare McDonogh harp, Sally Whitwell piano, Claire Edwardes percussion, Jenny Druery double bass.
Broadcast by ABC Classic FM Wednesday 3 June 2009, 8.00pm