WOMEN'S MUSIC

To round off my week of musicals, I went to concert at the University of Western Australia by the Mirabilis Collective. Their mission is to amplify women’s music and voices. They are a multi-generational classical music ensemble but they also adapt contemporary music for their purposes as well as commissioning new music. This concert, Southern Stars,  featured a world premiere by West Australian composer Katherine Potter, set to poetry by Caitlin Maling, alongside evocative works by Melody Eötvös, Brenda Gifford, Jessica Wells, and Elena Kats-Chernin. Songs by the Stiff Gins, Angie McMahon, and Kate Miller-Heidke were reimagined in new arrangements, highlighting the richness of Australia’s contemporary voices.

The songs were performed by an ensemble of acclaimed WA musicians: Lucinda Nicholls – soprano, Yi-Yun Loei – harp, , Stephanie Nicholls – oboe and piano
Tresna Stampalia - flute, Julia Nicholls – violin, Katherine Potter – viola, Elena Wittkuhn – cello.

They were an impressive and talented group of women. Lucinda had an extraordinary voice singing high notes with exquisite perfection. Stephanie, the mother, is chief oboist with WASO, but also plays the piano. An ABC presenter, Jo Trilling, did interviews with all the artists in between each piece to explain each of the works. Yi-Yun, for example, talked about studying at a US music school with 25 other harpists! I thought I might have been irritated by the break in the flow caused by this process but the artists’ conversations helped provide a useful context for the music. Overall, a fascinating and enjoyable experience.