BY LILY BRYANT
Have you ever considered the way spoken word plays a musical role in a classical piece?
Personally, I understood the use of text for storytelling, or for deeper expression, or even for aesthetic. But it took speaking to First Nations composer Brenda Gifford about the upcoming premiere of her new work Wadhu/Skin to realise that something so simple and universal could elevate a work musically, adding as much colour and expression as any other instrument.
“With my writing, I’m really into tones and textures and layers of sound, whatever form that takes,” Brenda shares.
“I think it just brings another tone texture, because things like spoken word, apart from it being cultural, it’s textural in that it gives it another element to the piece.”
Brenda’s new work will be premiered at the Melbourne Recital Centre; two more of her works will feature on this concert program in which she will also take the role of narrator. The inclusion of her own spoken word poetry in Wadhu/Skin is not just textural, or even narrative, but also a pathway to share and celebrate cultural practices. The words are based on Brenda’s heritage from the Wreck Bay area, and on her experiences as a Wodi Wodi and Yuin woman.
“It’s just important for me, if I have the opportunity, to use language in a piece. To me, it’s that kind of language reclamation and revitalisation of language.”
And the use of this language is particularly relevant in the context of the piece’s inspiration — the connections we have to others.
“I was thinking about our people and culture and that idea of connection through family ties. Clan, group, community, language, culture — that’s where the idea for the piece came from. Our connections to people are universal as well.”
The prestigious Merlyn Myer Music Commission — established in memory of philanthropist Dame Merlyn Myer, and here supported by the Aranday Foundation and Yulgilbar Foundation — supports the creation of a new work from an Australian female-identifying composer. The commission offers “creative freedom” to the composer, as well as opportunities for performance and high-quality recording in the Melbourne Recital Centre. Previous winners have included Sally Greenaway, Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, Andrea Keller, and Nat Bartsch.
“It’s an amazing opportunity, basically because it just gives me the opportunity to look at ways I can share my culture through music,” Brenda says.
The opportunity to share culture through music is amplified by the unusually broad scope the commission offers composers, and Brenda’s instrumentation maximises her expression of colour and texture. Scored for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, cello, double bass, percussion, and narrator, Wadhu/Skin is taken on by renowned new music group Ensemble Offspring.
“I really like working with Ensemble Offspring because they’ve been big supporters of me personally as a composer and with the Ngarra-Burria program, so we go back a bit. Especially [founder Claire Edwardes] as well — she’s just been a very solid supporter of my journey.
“You don’t always get that opportunity to write for specific groups — you’re usually given upfront the details of the commission. But with this piece, I had the luxury of just being able to write,” Brenda says.
Featuring additional works by Australian composers Ross Edwards and Christopher Sainsbury, this concert offers audiences a look into contemporary classical music as an exploration of colour and a celebration of culture.
“It’s just a great opportunity for me to have my music heard, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Attend the world premiere of Brenda Gifford & Ensemble Offspring – Wadhu/Skin at 6pm October 18, Melbourne Recital Centre.
Images supplied.
