BY ZOE DOUGLAS-KINGHORN, LEAD WRITER
Disclaimer: CutCommon would like to acknowledge the work of the Tasmanian Fire Service, battling more than 50 bushfires across the state this week. We encourage audience members planning to attend any of these events to stay safe and check the TFS website prior to travelling to remote areas during this time.
Who are the first musicians in our natural world?
It’s a contested question. If you ask Simone Slattery and Anthony Albrecht, it’s the humble Australian songbird that may have been the very first to emerge on the prehistoric music scene.
After reading Tim Low’s award-winning book Where Song Began, violinist Simone realised that in her life on the road, one thing she missed the most was the sound of birds from her hometown. So she joined forces with cellist Anthony and, before you could say “cuckoo!”, a project took flight.
Where Song Began is a celebration of the diverse antiquity of Australia’s birdlife. Spanning millions of years of evolutionary history, the concert explores the influences of the ancient species on sonic art.
Having built on the show for 18 months, the duo now embarks on a regional tour of Tasmania, among the surrounds of endangered rainforests. If you’re on the Apple Isle, definitely potter along to their show – you can visit their website here for the details.
Meanwhile, we chat with Anthony about the joys of regional touring, making music for the future generations, and the birds that changed the world.
Where did song begin? Tell us about the inspiration behind this project.
The inspiration came from Tim Low’s wonderful book Where Song Began, which tells the story of how song evolved in Australia. We have genetic records dating back millions of years, which place the Australian passerines (or perching birds that sing) among the oldest on earth. These include a species that everyone associates as the king of singing: the lyrebird.
The lyrebird challenges the traditional assumptions about the origin of music; the notion that the best culture or song or art comes from the Northern Hemisphere. Actually, the Australian species predate traditional European songbirds like the nightingale and the lark.
One of the other intriguing things we’ve found is in the early quotes from Australian settlers. They suggest that their initial experiences of native birds were quite startling, saying they missed the sweet sound of birds back at home.
But when you do actually sit back and listen to a magpie, or any of our beloved birds here, they have incredibly sweet voices. While it’s not a contest, we want to highlight their importance to the history of song and to human appreciation of aural landscapes.
How does your interpretation sit in acknowledgement of the Indigenous cultures of Australia?
The [birdsong] has been an absolutely fundamental aspect of culture in Australia for tens of thousands of years through songlines and totems of different tribes. We’re playing music that stands 300 years in terms of formal composition, but we try to acknowledge the longstanding cultural history in Australia and the fact that there’s a lot for us to learn.
Which birds should we listen out for in the piece?
The show begins with a dawn chorus from the Western New South Wales riverine region, with beautiful calls from the grey shrike thrush. (Try saying that ten times without stopping – it’s a tongue twister.)
There’s a scene [that depicts] a bunch of snuggling blue wrens, a courtship ritual, and a long section devoted to the lyrebird. Then the magpies appear, and cockatoos interrupt the piece.
What do you want the audience to take away from this concert?
It’s essentially designed to give people a heightened experience of songbirds, and to highlight the implications of the habitat destruction that is going on in many parts of Australia. It’s not specifically a conservation piece, but I think we owe [the songbirds] our appreciation of beautiful sounds.
If the audience comes away having learnt something, enjoyed themselves, maybe even become inspired towards conservation efforts, that is massive. The future generations might not grow up hearing these beautiful sounds – I’ve got a young daughter, and I’m hoping she’ll experience a similar connection to the sounds of the landscapes.
What’s next for Where Song Began?
We’d love to tour even further afield in collaboration with Birdlife Australia [a bird conservation network]. We want WSB to be a really important educational tool and to take it into schools. We also plan on recording a CD in the first half of the year.
The next project [involves] raising funds in 2019 to tell the story of bird migration. One of the key conservation issues is conserving the habitats of birds, so with the Flyaway network, we’re planning to write a piece about flight paths, and musically tracing the journey of birds down from Siberia to Australia and beyond. We’re imagining tracking down cultural references from the countries and regions they pass through, going on a storytelling journey.
Before we go: regional touring tips, please!
Regional touring is an artform in itself. At its core, it’s really about connecting with incredible communities and individuals who are keen to bring cultural experiences into their regional areas.
Seek out audiences. It takes a lot of generous souls to get bums on seats. If you can make a connection in a regional area – whether with a local arts council or a committee which preserves the local hall, or a local musician – then you can tap into existing networks.
Make the most of your venue. There are some beautiful halls and churches which are often underutilised, but also a growing movement to revitalise these shared spaces. Communities are proud of these places and they invest in their maintenance. When someone calls them up and says, ‘Hey, can we bring the show here?’, it’s not a super common experience. And if you’re an independent touring artist, they’ll probably welcome you.
Step out of your comfort zone. One main goal of these tours is supported by the fact that these venues exist, along with the people who are passionate about their community. You can inspire more people to enjoy music.
See Where Song Began with Anthony and Simone in Tasmania until 29 January.
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We’re all volunteers here at CutCommon. Shout Zoe a coffee – or even treat her to a fancy meal. It’s completely up to you. (She’s the one with the flute.)
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Images supplied. Lyrebird captured by Dominic Sherony (CC-BY-SA-2.0)
