THE ORACLE
Consult the oracle and experience an ancient and charismatic vision of the future with Ensemble Offspring and friends.
DETAILS
Wednesday 3 June 6:30pm, The Neilson, ACO On The PierFRIDAY 5 JUNE 6:30PM, THE STREET, CANBERRA
PROGRAM
CHRISTOPHER CERRONE How to Breathe Underwater (2011)
TOBIAS BROSTRÖM Dream Variations (2011)
TANSY DAVIES Lost Science**† (2024)
KATE MOORE Rose of roses, flower of flowers**† (2025)
KATE MOORE Percussion Concerto**‡ (2026)
** Australian premiere
† Ensemble Offspring commission with generous support from Mark Wakely
‡ Ensemble Offspring co-commission
Concert Duration: 100 minutes including interval
PERFORMERS
Clark Rundell (conductor)
Claire Edwardes (Artistic Director, percussion soloist)
Lamorna Nightingale (flutes)
Jason Noble (clarinets)
Nicola Bell (oboe)
Ben Hoadley (bassoon)
Arkie Moore (trumpet – Hatched Emerging Performer)
Nigel Crocker (trombones)
Véronique Serret (violin/voice)
Liisa Pallandi (violin)
Ella Beard (viola)
Blair Harris (cello)
Benjamin Ward (double bass)
Niki Johnson (percussion)
Ronan Apcar (piano)
DESCRIPTION
Our biggest and boldest program of the season is also our most subtle and surreal, with music that will overwhelm you with its delicate beauty and luminous sonorities.
Christopher Cerrone’s ethereal quartet, How to Breathe Underwater leads into the resonant dreamworld of Tobias Broström – haunting music featuring an uncharacteristically tender trumpet. Kate Moore holds a mirror to 13th-century Spain with a modern-day cantiga, Rose of roses, flower of flowers. In its unsung tale, the nightingale, pierced by a rose thorn, sings itself to death.
Two large-scale works receive their Australian premieres. English composer Tansy Davies has written Lost Science as an imaginary journey into the Earth’s interior. She evokes ancient spaces that ‘speak to us in moans, groans, echoes and whispers’, summoning visions of the Divine Feminine, from Isis to Joan of Arc. And Kate Moore’s new percussion concerto, written for her long-time friend Claire Edwardes and co-commissioned with Amsterdam’s Het Muziek, builds on her fascination with storms and the sensual experience of being in nature at the mercy of the elements. The result is equal parts edgy, exhilarating, transcendental, terrifying and beautiful.
Join us by the waters of Sydney Harbour as we consult the oracle.
“The experience is totally immersive yet gently, rather than boldly, persuasive.”
“From her long-standing base in The Netherlands, Moore has crafted a rich mature style that pushes the post-minimal logic of her teacher Louis Andriessen into a mesmerising series of ever-spiralling webs.”
“[Kate Moore’s music] feels like something is hugging you from the inside, like drinking a satisfying hot chocolate.”
“Moore is a cellist who often composes from the instrument and maintains the deeply somatic practice of penciling out her scores before eventually typesetting them.”
“This is an ensemble of Australia’s finest musicians performing innovative, relevant and engaging new music that bursts with imagination, energy and inspiration.”
DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM
Accessibility Information
If you have accessibility requirements, please reach out to the friendly Ensemble Offspring team by emailing admin@ensembleoffspring.com.
SUPPORTED BY
Ensemble Offspring is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Photo: Claire Edwardes by Cole Bennetts
