BY EMMA SULLIVAN
The ANAM Set Festival: Opening Night
Abbotsford Convent, 13 May
Few industries were harder hit by the pandemic than the arts, with countless cancelled concerts and projects placed in limbo. But the ANAM Set Festival, held at Abbotsford Convent on May 13-15, celebrated a brilliant project born out of lockdown – the commissioning of 67 new works by 67 Australian composers, one for each student in the 2021 cohort. The result is a formidable survey of new music in Australia – and a fascinating insight into the varied ways in which creatives responded to the challenges of the past two years.
Programming 67 new works by different composers into one weekend is undoubtedly a daunting task. Each concert program centred around a common theme that emerged from the commissioned works — out of doors, mind games, nostalgia, weights and measures, sounds of an agenda, loss and hope and intimate exchange. The opening concert featured a representative work from each of these, with each theme and corresponding work thoughtfully introduced and contextualized by ANAM creative coordinator Leigh Harrold.
William Barton’s deeply moving Journey Song, performed by Barton and ANAM alumnus Josiah Kop, opened the festival. Scored for the unusual paring of didgeridoo and French horn, the work was a brilliant showcase of the talents of both musicians. At times, the two instruments seamlessly blended into each other and, in other moments, they were juxtaposed against each other, allowing for dramatic shifts in momentum. At a climactic point near the end of the work, Barton’s rich singing voice filled the space, punctuated by a driving rhythmic accompaniment on the horn.
Lily Bryant’s commanding performance of Matthew Laing’s Destructive Interference for solo flute was absolutely captivating. Described by the composer as “a portrait of a meeting point between the self that you know, and the selves that went and made different decisions, did other things”, the work explored the full expressive range of the flute, at times sonorous and at others percussive and driving. Lily’s playing was full of character and beautifully articulated the detail in the writing.
Another stand-out performer of the evening was James Morley, performing Liza Lim’s Cello Playing – as Meteorology. In this work, the breathing of the cellist guides the way in which they use the bow. James seemed completely at one with his instrument throughout the performance – which was no mean feat, considering he was playing standing with a bow in each hand!
The concert also included assured and committed performances of Kate Tempany’s Honeyeater by trumpeter Nicholas Corkeron and Elizabeth Younan’s tour de force for double bass, Fantasia No. 7, by Kenneth Harris. In Honeyeater, the depiction of the bird call of the endangered Regent honeyeater was enhanced by the performer adjusting his position on the stage. Similar spacial aspects were engaged in the performance of Chris Dench’s Un petit mot crabe-c’est-ma-faute, where trombonist Cian Malikides’ movement across the stage was suggestive of the fiddler crab the music depicted. The ensemble work between Malikides and percussionist Alexander Meagher was very impressive in this work, with the percussive elements in the work punctuating and enhancing key musical moments in an almost theatrical manner.
Throughout the concert, the camaraderie between the performers and composers was evident, and and it was clear the featured musicians will continue to be enthusiastic ambassadors for their commissioned works. While only a snapshot of what was to come over the course of the festival, this opening concert celebrated the wealth of talent at ANAM and the ambitious vision of the ANAM Set commissioning project – and was a testament to the fact that great art often emerges from the darkest times.
Learn more about the ANAM Set commissioning project.
Images supplied. Credit Pia Johnson.
