SONGS OF EVE - ART SONG CANBERRA

Jane Sheldon soprano

Jack Symonds piano

Art Song Canberra

Wesley Music Centre, Forrest February 16

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

In a demanding but superb program, soprano, Jane Sheldon, and pianist, Jack Symonds, created an extraordinary world of atmospheric music that was dreamlike and haunting. The spell of the music evoked intensely individual memories, feelings and experiences.

Jane Sheldon is a leading Australian soprano and composer with an international reputation. Her own body of compositional work includes electronic music, chamber music, an opera installation, works for dance companies and large-scale sound installations for galleries and museums. She holds a doctorate in music composition from the Sydney University.

Jane Sheldon

Jack Symonds is a composer, conductor and pianist and Artistic Director of Sydney Chamber Opera. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music, London and at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where he received the University Medal.

Jack Symonds

Sheldon introduced the order of the four program items at the start of the concert and then performed them without a break. She commenced with her own compositions to a text by Rainer Maria Rilke from her album, Flowermuscle, This was followed by Wolken (Clouds) by Pascal Dusapin to a text by Goethe. Gabriel Fauré’s La Chanson d’Eve with a text by Charles van Lerberghe was the third item and the final item was Francis Poulenc’s La Dame de Monte Carlo which had a text by Jean Cocteau.

Sheldon’s use of her clear soprano and ability to convey the meaning and different emotions in the works was quite extraordinary. The sly humour in in the words of Poulenc’s La Dame de Monte Carlo was especially well presented. Jack Symonds’ piano accompaniment for this program’s complex music was remarkable.

 

Photos by Peter Hislop

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 17 February 2025.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.