ENSEMBLE OFFSPRING : TIME AS A REVELATOR @ CARRIAGEWORKS

Australia’s largest contemporary multi-arts precinct, will present Time as Revelator, a performance by contemporary instrumental group Ensemble Offspring. Presented for one-night-only on 16 July 2022, Time as Revelator is a celebration of the power of the beat, featuring a program of original works for instrumental chamber combinations from some of the most acclaimed local and international composers, including the Australian premiere of Cuban Pulitzer Prize winning composer Tania León’s Rítmicas and a celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the birth of legendary composer Iannis Xenakis. 

Led by acclaimed percussionist and Artistic Director Claire Edwardes OAM, Ensemble Offspring comprises a core line-up of some of Australia’s most well-regarded musicians who champion living composers and create innovative musical experiences for audiences. For their latest performance, the ensemble explores the nature of rhythm and its relationship to time, bringing together an exciting program of original works that moves through various musical traditions and cultures.

Claire Edwardes OAM said: “The five works I chose to form Time as Revelator are all unique due to the way in which they reference rhythm – all of them informed by a traditional music influence – Cuban, Greek, African and American jazz. Several are classics of the repertoire, like Xenakis and Reich, two were written by Australian star composers William Gardiner and Holly Harrison, and one is by a Cuban Pulitzer Prize winning composer whose original music we premiere in Australia for the first time. Also noting the balance of female to male composers (more females!).” 

In celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the birth of acclaimed Greek-French architect and composer Iannis Xenakis, audiences will be treated to a special performance of his work Plekto. Xenakis is considered a leading figure of modernism in music, known for his experimental composition techniques derived from mathematics, architectural principles and game theory. In Plekto, meaning ‘braids,’ instruments intertwine and overlap to create a dense melodic plait. 

Rítmicas by Cuban Pulitzer Prize winning composer Tania León will be performed for the first time in Australia. Inspired by the legacy of Cuban composer, violinist and conductor Amadeo Roldán, Rítmicas is infused with the energetic rhythms found in the music of Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. 

Further highlights of the program include Vermont Counterpoint by one of the greatest living composers of this century, Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Reich; bend/boogie/break by celebrated Australian composer Holly Harrison; and Hebbian Theory, Mvt I by William Gardiner, an up-and-coming Australian voice recently returned from the USA. 

Tickets for Ensemble Offspring’s Time as Revelator are on sale now at https://carriageworks.com.au/events/time-as-revelator/  

Featured image : Ensemble Offspring;
Sydney, December 2021. Pic Keith Saunders