Homophonic! has been on the Melbourne classical music scene since 2011, “championing LGBTIQ+ composers, and bringing the disco ball to the concert hall”.
Their midsumma concerts at Theatre Works featured a mix of works by composing elders (Julius Eastman) acclaimed, established Australians (Sally Whitwell, Aaron Wyatt) and emerging artists (Ashleigh Hazel), with several written works set to music and sung by the Consort of Melbourne, whose perfect pitch and harmonies throughout delighted the ear.
The performers carried their instruments and music stands into position for each piece, with the personnel changing as required, all done simply according to the demands of the music.
They began with Sally Whitwell’s witty ‘Closets are for Clothes’, sung by the formally arranged Consort of Melbourne, who had great fun with the modern words and ideas set in a more traditional form.
‘The Connections We Make’, Wyatt’s lovely composition, set the tone for the next section – delicate, contemporary, wonderfully performed by the ensemble.
‘Through the Air’ has music by Quin Thomson set to words by Lili James, whose words we could follow along on the backdrop. It is inspired by, and in honour of, queer Tasmania-based elder Merran ‘Mez’ Newman, whose life experiences – from Stonewall to nursing in war zones, to running a bookshop in Cygnet – were celebrated.
Julius Eastman’s ‘Joy Boy’ has a particularly American feel, certainly at the beginning, when New York soundscapes of blaring car horns in the distance quivered through the start of the piece. This work sent this reviewer off to YouTube to find more of Eastman, who was a contemporary of Philip Glass – with minimalism as their common focus.
Ashleigh Hazel’s ‘Mesophilic’ was introduced by the composer – a series of elegantly simple motifs, which then were fed into an AI process and reproduced many times, with each previous iteration superimposed on the previous one, and each projected onto the screen upstage, so we could see the increasingly complex and dense notations.
Jacob Abela played the grand piano, leaping up to dive into the body of the instrument to pluck, hit or strum the piano strings in between playing, elbowing or forearming the keyboard. Never has fitness looked so essential to being a pianist! This was a fascinating piece, explained clearly by the composer for civilians, and played with great energy and vigour by Abela.
Sadly, time constraints prevented us from enjoying two pieces listed on the program – Jean-Baptiste Lully’s ‘O Sapientia’ and ‘Love’ from Electric Cathedral with music by Kevin March and words by Kylie Supski and ReVerse Butcher.
The concert ended with what was called an ‘Extra Special Surprise Finale’, arranged by Kym Dillon, a mash-up of Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ with a few phrases of the ‘Flower Duet’ from Lakmé thrown in for fun.
Read: Theatre review: 4000 Miles, Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company
Homophonic! is an impressive group of excellent musicians showcasing works that need a wider general audience. The concert was a simply staged, heartfelt celebration of musicianship and the talents of our queer community.
Homophonic!
Presented by Miranda Hill, Theatre Works and midsumma festival
Theatre Works
Artistic Direction and MC: Miranda Hill
Conductor and Artistic Director of The Consort of Melbourne: Steven Hodgson
Lighting: Alyssa Clay
Sound: Ashleigh Hazel
Stage Manager: Cameron Lam
The Consort of Melbourne: Katherine ‘Cookie’ Norman, Kristy Biber, Miranda Gronow, Jack Jordan, Ben Owen, Steven Hodgson
Musicians: Natasha Conrau, Meg Cohen, Phoebe Green, Campbell Banks, Miranda Hill, Ben Opie, Karen Heath, Jacob Abela
Homophonic! was performed 7-8 February 2025 as part of midsumma festival.
