BY WENDY ZHANG
Luminous
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Featuring Lior and artwork by Bill Henson
Sydney Opera House, 18 August
Would you go to see a concert that makes you uncomfortable?
Luminous was one of those – a concert that made me feel at the edge of my seat and uneasy throughout. It was a dark concert that combined music and images to provoke thoughts and emotions – dark both in the physical sense (the orchestra stage itself had no light), and emotional sense (controversial photographer Bill Henson’s unsettling and gloomy portraits of vulnerable teenagers alongside the music). The event explored this concept of vulnerability, challenging the audience to look directly into it, and appreciate the moment. I was surprised to see a concert hall full of people young and old to witness this unique performance.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra first presented the first and second movements of Schnittke’s Trio Sonata, which, according to Anna Melville’s pre-concert talk, was the “darkness” of Luminous. Both movements used a lot of very dissonant chords, provoking feelings of pessimism and despair, which was common in Schnittke’s music.
In the Moderato movement, the projector screen showed a portrait of a teenage girl looking distant, and the orchestra first played dissonant chords and eerie music, to which the girl’s expression then came across as shameful and the scene somewhat scandalous as a whole. However, suddenly the music changed to be harmonious and pleasant while still projecting the same image – and it felt dramatically different to me: the girl now appeared tired but cheerful and I even saw a hint of smile on her face; perhaps she was in love. This change of music injected different meanings into viewing the same photograph, and made me wonder what music and sound can do to change people’s perception of things (also a concept discussed by Melville).
Australian singer-songwriter Lior joined the orchestra to sing Gabriel Yared’s The Talented Mr Ripley: Lullaby for Cain. Lior’s voice was tender and unique, which had a particular rawness to it especially when hitting the high notes. I felt a sense of vulnerability in his voice, which I connected to straight away. With so much emotions attached to each word, he became more of a storyteller, telling an extremely chilling story of a mother who sings a lullaby for her two sons – one murdered by the other. I felt sad and had chills down my spine throughout Lior’s storytelling and tight collaboration with the ACO in this piece.
The next song – R.E.M.’s I’ve Been High – was my personal favourite of the concert. It started with a photograph of a cityscape basked in sunset and cloud, capturing the brief moment between light and dark; so beautiful and tranquil. The music was warm and expressive, with the plucking of strings from the violins and the gentle beats from the back drum, accompanying the delicate voice of Lior. His interpretation of this song was charming and captivating. He emphasised particular words such as “high” and “life”, full of emotions and his own life experiences. I really enjoyed the violin accompaniment, compared to the original guitar version, and felt it provided an exquisite backdrop and support for Lior’s voice. It was a moment that was locked in my memory; the cityscape, a dark stage illuminated by a few dim reading lights, and Lior’s gentle voice accompanied by a strings orchestra.
It was his storytelling and ability to connect that made this fictional character jump to life, and also made me physically feel cold and at edge of my seat.
Purcell’s King Arthur: What Power Art Thou was a recent addition to the Luminous repertoire, and what a brave choice! This song was a shivering musical depiction of winter cold, and Lior successfully portrayed the character with a nervous and broken voice. Again, I felt it was his storytelling and ability to connect that made this fictional character jump to life, and also made me physically feel cold and at edge of my seat.
In the second half, Richard Tognetti led the ACO to present the ‘light’ of the Luminous concert: Concerto for Violin and Strings Distant Light by Peteris Vasks. It started with an image of a house painted with graffiti, illuminated by dim street lights. Again, the word ‘vulnerability’ came to mind when I saw this image, partly because of the lighting, but also the fact it was a small, torn-down house and had vandalism all over the wall. Tognetti’s violin solo was fast, powerful and brilliant – the descending trills were emotional and expressive. The slow section was particularly charming. I also enjoyed the parts where there was no image on the screen: it made me focus solely on the music.
I didn’t have the usual exhilarated feeling of attending a concert, and even felt a bit confused and gloomy after it was over. But after a few days, some of the music and images from the concert still came up in my mind and locked in my memory as a whole. It shows the power of this particular collaboration. And perhaps, after all, being happy and cheerful is not the ultimate goal of attending a concert.
Images supplied. Credit Julian Kingma and featuring artwork by Bill Henson.
