What does it mean to care about something? Deeply and truly care about a subject or idea?
In our fast-paced world, where everything from politics to culture feels fickle and made especially for the instant gratification of the internet, how many times do we admit to caring about something deeply?
In the latest performance by Changing Wilds Ensemble, I had the opportunity to witness an honest and heartfelt concert dedicated to genuinely caring about something deeply. Place, feeling, memory, and the environment were all explored in a stunningly curated concert from this new ensemble.
Made up of composer-flute player Robert McIntyre, soprano Bridgette Kelsey, violinist Isabel Hede, cellist Gemma Kneale and pianist Georgina Lewis, this evening of new music took us from the latest sounds of McIntyre to the minimalist-Scandy-pop of Olafur Arnalds.
Opening with McIntyre’s A Sea Spray of Ash for piano and voice, I was struck by the dexterity and quality of Kelsey’s clear soprano. From delicate and aspirant softs, through to a powerful bel canto top, Kelsey sang this sparse and reverberant work, inspired by the ever-looming climate crisis, with ease and brilliance.
The second work brought the strings and piano together with Kelsey for the first of three songs from Arnalds. Kelsey was in command again, this time showcasing her variety in singing perfectly in the style required: folky and poppy, but still with the clear diction and intonation needed for such a performance setting: the acoustically live Primrose Potter Salon at Melbourne Recital Centre.
Some bumps from the two strings at the commencement soon dissipated, with Kneale and Hede performing with the signature beauty of vibrato and a singing quality that easily filled the room. Lewis’s precise and tonal playing added the final touch to a charming piece.
Nat Bartsch’s Homecoming brought a sparkling elegance to the program – a simple work that gave us a space to reflect before entering Laura Abraham’s a hazy memory for flute and piano. An incredibly moving work that honoured the death of the composers Nanna, this work touched a deep emotional vein.
Another piece of McIntyre’s, this time for flute, voice and piano, followed. Unfortunately, this work suffered from some balance issues, with the piano dominating. This was a strong work that explored a contemporary rethink of the goddess Persephone in an age where her wintery slumber is now affected by human-caused climate change.
After another brilliant Arnalds offering, McIntyre effortlessly introduced the larger works of the evening, starting with a curious piece by Anne Cawrse, Time’s Long Ruin. Curiously meandering, Lewis noted before the performance that this piece musically wandered from idea to idea, and I found the effect to be at times quite beguiling, and at other times distracting. The work was composed in preparation for developing musical ideas for an opera, and I fear it suffered from being perhaps too full of ideas to feel whole as a work. However, Lewis brilliantly negotiated the work to give it clear musical and dramaturgical impact.
The largest work of the concert, the third performance of McIntye’s Our Duty to Care, was the highlight of the program. An exploration of the integral legal finding Sharma vs Minister for the Environment, which determined that the government has a responsibility to future generations to minimise the effects of climate change, this work weaved and spun through various sonic chambers of brilliance, allowing the string, piano and vocal line all a moment to shine in sonorous glory, alongside darker moments, such as an intriguing inner section for pizzicato violin and col legno cello that was written to great effect. I can see why such a work has been fortunate enough to have so many outings – and it deserves many more. The excellent text to this work was spoken by poet Savanna Wegman.
To round out the evening, we returned to Arnalds for his melancholic collaboration with Ella Mcrobb, and we’ll leave it there…, a work that proved to pull on the heart strings as this sold out crowd revelled in the chance to really listen and observe art that had something to say and a point to care about.
Photo supplied.
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Evan J Lawson reviewed “Our Duty to Care”, presented by the Changing Wilds Ensemble at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Primrose Potter Salon on August 1, 2025.
