Songs of Silent Earth
Songs of Silent Earth is a stunning curated program reflecting on the current plight of Mother Earth. With spoken word by Australian author and historian Jackie French, and music by living Australian women composers, this performance illuminates the devastation of drought across Australia, and inspires hope for the future.
Natalie Williams’ Songs of Silent Earth is the centrepiece of the program, featured alongside works by Nat Bartsch (VIC), Isabella Gerometta (QLD), Sally Greenaway (ACT), Elena Kats-Chernin (NSW), Sarah Hopkins (QLD) and Christine McCombe (VIC).
This concert was a fundraiser for drought relief, first performed for International Women’s Day in March 2020. All artist fees and proceeds after costs were donated to the Country Women Australia’s Drought Relief Campaign.
Featured Composers
Songs for Silent Earth is a suite for Piano Trio, commissioned by local Byron music lover, Vicki Brooke. This piece was written for the Muses Trio and premiered at Byron Bay for International Women’s Day 2018. The piece was commissioned to celebrate the natural beauty of Byron Bay, on Australia’s east coast, alongside a celebration of the voices of women. This suite reflects upon three female figures and interprets their voices musically in a series of “songs for the hours” musical pieces intended for the passage of the day.
Repertoire
Reclaiming the Spirit (1993), (violin & cello version 2011), Sarah Hopkins
Songs of Silent Earth (2018), Natalie Williams
Backlight Trio (2017), composed for Muses Trio, Isabella Gerometta
Anregung (1999) for violin, cello & piano, Christine McCombe
Blue Silence (2006) for cello & piano, Elena Kats-Chernin
Summer Beckons (2014) for violin & piano, Sally Greenaway
Into the Light (2015) for violin, cello & pianos, Nat Bartsch