Nyilamum – Song Cycles

Very rarely has this reviewer seen an entire audience rise from their seats as one to give a standing ovation! Nyilamum, featuring Dr Lou Bennett AM and the Australian String Quartet, have created a pivotal event in the bridging of First Nations’ and Western music. The effect is moving and an experience for the senses!

ASQ should be commended for their production values. The Nyilamum experience begins in the foyer with bird calls cutting through audience pre-show chatter. The production itself uses lighting to recreate the outback - red backlighting behind the performers suggesting morning or evening, tall blue shafts of light illuminating the Town Hall organ and a pool of light on Dr Bennett and the quartet which focusses the audience’s attention on the music.

Dr. Bennett, who provides the vocals for this production, has produced work that stretches over a vast area within the arts industry including her various roles as Performer, Songwriter, Musical and Artistic Director, Composer, Actor, Soundscape and Music Designer and Educator. Bennett uses her own languages of Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung, extending to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages that can be retrieved, reclaimed and regenerated through songs, stories and performances.

The Australian String Quartet comprising Dale Barltrop (violin), Francesca Hiew (violin),

Chris Cartlidge (viola) and Michael Dahlenburg (cello) are well known to Adelaide audience for their musical excellence and wide repertoire. Nyilamum features some demanding technique which the quartet take ‘in their stride’ producing an enthusiastic response from the audience.

The first two works of the night ‘baiyan woka’ and ‘jaara nyilamum’ (arranged by Iain Grandage) are preceded by a voiceover from Dr Bennett explaining the family story on which she is basing her work.

“Nyilamum song cycles is about a little girl, a little baby, who was found in the hollow of a tree after a young man was felling trees in Jaara Jaara, Dja Dja Wurrung Country. It was in 1904 this tree came down, and a little bundle rolled out of the top of the tree. On closer inspection, he realised it was a little baby girl wrapped up in a Djukum Djukum, a possum skin cloak.”

The two songs are sonorous and full of emotion. Dr Bennett pours out her soul and brings the outback to the Adelaide Town Hall, sitting on a possum skin rug and using her hands as well as her voice to tell her story. The effect, when added to ASQ’s music is intense.

Paul Stanhope an accomplished Sydney based composer, conductor, and educator, has gained global recognition for his compositions, performed in major venues across the UK, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

His String Quartet No.3, ‘From the Kimberley’ in some ways echoes the work of his teacher, Peter Sculthorpe. ‘Tracks and Traces’ begins in a frenzy and is fugue-like in its structure with stunning cello passages and pizzicato work.

‘Dirrari Lament’ is more lyrical and features the quartet playing ‘as one’. At many times it is easy to forget there are only 4 players as the sound is so rich and full and utilises the use of glissando.

‘River-run’ is just that. You can almost hear the river running and the creatures who live there. There are beautifully executed violin and cello solos, and the players exploit the extreme ranges of their instruments.

The second half of the evening features the Australian Premiere of Nyilamum -  Song Cycles, a collaboration between Dr Bennett and Paul Stanhope.

Composed of 6 songs - ‘bangarnowey’ (the Sun climbs), ‘mareewan jaara jhar’ (I cry for Jaara country), ‘marreewan/murundek’ (I cry, I’m alive), ‘kalkii’ (Trees and Bones), ‘beerawercoornek’ (My breath) and ‘nyilamumek’ (My Baby) - the work is full of imagery and compassion.

There are bird calls that sound amazingly real, gum tree branches that are shaken at various times, vocal sounds from the quartet and Dr Bennett’s voice soaring from the heights to the depth of her soul.

There is a perfect union between string quartet and voice they resonate as one, yet all have moments to shine, particularly the viola and cello. The quartet’s performance contains some techniques not often seen in the concert hall; hand percussion on their instruments and complex pizzicato passages.

The effect is electric as we are transported to another place and another time thanks to the fusion of Dr Bennett’s folk songs, Stanhope’s intricate score and the technical excellence of the Australian String Quartet.

Perhaps the only way this production could be improved is to use surtitles to enable us to better understand Dr Bennett’s stories. Having said that, the message more than resonates, thanks to the talents of Dr Bennett and the ASQ.

Nyilamum is a watershed production closing the gap between First Nation’s and Western music that should be compulsory viewing for any music lover or lover of stories. It is an intensely moving experience and a credit to the composer and performers. Bravo Dr Bennett AM and Australian String Quartet!

Barry Hill OAM

Images by Tony Lewis

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