Sally Whitwell, composer and pianist
Rachel Mink,
soprano
Art Song
Canberra
Wesley Music Centre,
Forrest May 25
Reviewed by Len Power
A concert in two parts, the first part celebrated four female composers who made it in a man’s world and the second part was the premiere of a new work by Canberra composer and pianist, Sally Whitwell.
Whitwell is known particularly for her interpretations of the piano works of American minimalist Philip Glass. Her five solo albums on ABC Classic have garnered between them with ARIA nominations and three wins. She has been commissioned to compose for many vocal ensembles around Australia.
Whitwell, in her relaxed, engaging manner, gave us brief but interesting backgrounds to four female composers of the 19th and 20th centuries – Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Germaine Tailleferre and Cécile Chaminade.
Sally Whitwell
Expertly playing
one work of each of these composers, it was an enjoyable set of contrasts from
the vivid imagery of Beach to the romanticism of Schumann, the tonal colours of
Tailleferre and the technical wizardry of Chaminade.
After interval, Rachel Mink joined Whitwell on stage for the new work, Seven Necessary Sins. Mink, who moved to Canberra from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore USA during COVID, is a freelance soprano and an ensemble member of Luminescence Chamber Singers. She is at home on the opera stage as well as performing as a soloist.
Rachel Mink
Inspired by Kurt
Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins, the work was based on Mona Eltahawy’s 2019 book, The
Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls. According to Eltahawy, the seven
necessary sins that women and girls are not supposed to commit but need to if
they are to harness their power are anger, ambition, profanity, violence,
attention-seeking, lust and power.
Whitwell’s new work focused on each of those sins with an additional introduction and epilogue, Defy, Disobey, Disrupt.
Sally Whitwell and Rachel Mink
Whitwell’s music for
this work showed that she is an excellent composer. One song in particular,
Ambition: Sky Map soared with superb lyrics, beautifully sung by Mink.
While the music was excellent throughout and the songs were well sung by Mink, there was a sameness about the stream of consciousness lyrics that became progressively less interesting. While the audience could follow the lyrics in the program, the piano playing was often too strong, making the singer hard to hear.
The idea for this
show was a good basis for a cabaret, but it would have been more effective if
it had been presented in a more creative way. The readings introducing the
songs seemed like sermons and the use of salty language to give the show an
edge was tedious, not shocking.
Nevertheless, it was good to see Art Song Canberra present something new, adventurous and local.
Photos by Peter Hislop
This
review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 26 May 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/.
