Re-formed - Music: Perspective through 'Eternity'
In this episode, Creative arts advisor Alison Tenorio speaks with Sydney composer Ella Macens and Queensland-based performers Louise King, Therese Milanovic, and Christa Powell from Muses Trio. Listen to this episode to explore the perspectives of the composer and the performer through Ella's piece 'Eternity', Movement II from The Brightest Star in the Night. This episode supports the Stage 5 Music unit, Music of our solar system.
Biographies:
Ella Macens is one of Australia's most celebrated young composers, drawing upon elements of her Latvian heritage and fusing these with her love of popular and classical music. Her language is rooted in a deeply evocative and sensitive musical aesthetic, for which she is becoming well-known in Australia and beyond. She has been commissioned by prominent ensembles, including the Sydney and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, and has worked with various choirs and chamber groups around the world. Ella holds a Masters degree in Composition from the Sydney Conservatorium, which she completed under the guidance of Professor Matthew Hindson AM. Her accolades include the Frank Hutchens Scholarship for Composition and the Fine Music FM Young Composer Award, and in 2023 she was a finalist in the Australian Art Music Awards. Ella has participated in prestigious programs like the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Composing Women program and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Australian Composers' School. Ella is also a dedicated music educator and holds the position of Associate Lecturer in Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Louise King, cellist of Muses Trio, is the Artistic Director of Cello Dreaming, where she teaches, produces concerts, and mentors young musicians. She serves as Music Director for the Southern Cross Soloists Winter Music School and tutors for the Australian and Queensland Youth Orchestras. After moving to Australia in 2003, Louise became a freelance musician, performing with a range of orchestras and chamber ensembles. She also collaborates with singer-songwriters like Katie Noonan and international artists such as Il Divo and Josh Groban and creates new works with composers, choreographers, and artists.
Therese Milanovic is the pianist for Muses Trio and a dedicated performer, educator, and advocate for musicians’ health. After overcoming a decade of playing-related injuries through the Taubman Approach, she became Australia's first Taubman Instructor and is now its most experienced teacher. Therese promotes injury prevention and rehabilitation, offering online learning, consultations, and workshops for music educators. As a performer, she collaborates with musicians, has worked with Topology, and has performed internationally. She also focuses on chamber music, promoting lesser-known repertoire, particularly new works and compositions by women.
Christa Powell is as comfortable in the theatre pit as she is in character wardrobe on stage, or playing choreographed violin solos for the many dance companies she collaborates with. She excels in diverse settings, from orchestras to playing with Led Zeppelin and performing solo violin in Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre. As a founding member and creative director of Topology, one of Australia’s leading creative arts organisations, she created the award-winning Top Up program. Christa is a highly respected performance artist, violinist, and session musician and when she is not playing with Topology or for theatre, she performs a wide range of contemporary chamber music, her long-held passion.
Transcript
We strive to ensure every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner in New South Wales achieves their potential through education.
[:"Eternity" is the second movement of a 2 movement work, the Brightest Star in the Night by Australian composer Ella Macens. Ella Macens is one of Australia's most celebrated young composers, drawing upon elements of her Latvian heritage and fusing these with her love of popular and classical music.
You'll find a detailed biography for Ella in the podcast description. Ella, welcome and thanks for joining us today to chat about your work. Firstly, can I ask, did the music or the title come first and what is your story in writing this work?
[:So for me, I wanted to create something that really brought the concept of life, um, forward as eternal and ever evolving and continuous and to really honor my grandfather's, um, legacy in that way. And so in this instance, it happened quite simultaneously. I remember sitting at the piano. Coming up with some of the ostinatos that we hear Therese play so fluidly and beautifully in the recording.
And for me there was something that it just captured. We probably will talk about the time signature a bit later on, but it really kind of brought to light this essence of the continuous unfolding nature of life. And I loved the way that I could weave in kind of such a hint at some of the core motifs and some of the melodies that would be foregrounded later on.
But I definitely knew that I wanted it to be related to, I guess it's my connection with the galaxy and to space and to the stars. And that's also where the idea of that eternal and continuous nature feeds in because there's so much we do not know, and it's such an opportunity to bring faith and trust into that space.
So yeah, I kind of joined hand in hand in this process for this particular work.
[:Christa, Louise and Therese source, commission, perform and champion music by women from across the globe. Please find the biographies for Louise, Christa and Therese in the description. Welcome, Louise, Therese and Christa, thanks so much for joining us today. Can we start with how Muses Trio came to be involved in the recording of Ella's work?
[:Nat knew that Ella had this work commissioned, but it hadn't had an Australian premiere yet, and so she connected us basically, and so then Ella and I chatted, and Ella was intent for it to be recorded from the outset, which is a really important feature of our work as well. I think it's, it's really important for legacy that we don't just perform these beautiful works and a one-off or series of concerts that they're actually there, um, and that they really can be enjoyed for a very long time. And, and at that stage, it was a perfect fit for our 10th anniversary concert at the Red Box in South Bank, which was a floor to ceiling, glass wall with the Brisbane River behind and the city lights twinkling.
So beautiful just, it was such a perfect fit for this work. So that was the Australian premiere.
[:Why was this performing media chosen and what sound qualities of the instruments are successful in producing the timbre that was desired?
[:It's absolutely beautiful. And so the commission actually was originally for this particular ensemble makeup, and it's an interesting thing for the composer to consider whether they are going to choose instruments that will be suitable and you know, evocative of the concept that the composer wishes to bring to life, or sometimes it's vice versa we are asked to write for a certain ensemble, and then the idea of what they will do comes next. As I mentioned earlier, for me it was kind of mixing in both worlds, and so it was such an exciting thing to have the beautiful resonant qualities of the strings and also the piano in this particular composition. For me, it lended itself perfectly to the mood and the feeling that I wanted to create and the concepts I wanted to discover and uncover in writing this composition.
[:There's a delightful singing quality to everything in the violin and cello lines, very much like a human voice. And there's this wonderful kind of dialogue that happens between us throughout the whole movement. And then there's the padding of the piano, which kind of creates that, sparkle and 'cause of the high pitched nature of the ostinato figures, it tends to kind of have this sense of space. So I see the string lines very much operating as kind of a rhetoric, you know, a comment on the universe, and I think there's a slight human quality. When I was recording it, I was almost imagining Ella having a kind of conversation with her grandfather. Actually, it helped me on the cello line to kind of give it a bit of a, thoughtful, uh, sentiment.
[:[00:07:33] Louise King: Mm. Yeah, there's a, there's a delightful complexity and nuance to every note, which I think, um, is really stunning and it's a total delight to play.
It feels very ergonomic, very easy in terms of on the instrument, but yet the complexity of the writing is challenging, particularly in the metre. Yet we still have to try and push through that feeling of tempi, but to create this sense illusion of space. And I think she's managed to capture that beautifully.
[:[00:08:16] Therese Milanovic: For me, also, the, the piano trio just brings such an intimacy, you know, to, to the theme. You know, when you're initially talking about the other works in this unit, which are more orchestral works, and you wanted to contrast that, I think the, the piano trio just really zeroes into that sort of individual sparkles and the piano I think was, is able to give the work a lot of resonance with the use of the pedal and using o overtones, a lot of fifths and octaves, which are going to ring up that harmonic series so that the sound is really flying around instead of kind of being thick and solid and earth-based. It definitely feels like that the writing is more, um, of the atmosphere, I guess more of harm harmonics and vibrations rather than something earthbound and solid.
[:Ella, from your perspective as a composer and Therese, Christa and Louise, from a performer's perspective, what is the benefit of a collaborative approach when performing or recording your work?
[:[00:10:18] Louise King: I suppose we have to also clarify that we had the joy and privilege of having Ella in the recording studio as we were recording, which is very rare and it was a real privilege to have her there, which means that she can instantly kind of give feedback, uh, review things, question things, and kind of really get what she's wanting to, to have in that kind of recording legacy um, and that's such a joy to have a composer in the space. So it's definitely collaborative. Uh mm-hmm. We, we love having that feedback loop there and it doesn't always happen.
[:It can't tell you everything on the page and, and I, I find it really interesting you know, when I'm teaching works by older composers who aren't able to answer an email that we, we are left wondering, you know, well, did they really mean that two notes low to continue for the whole movement? Did they get bored writing it? Should they, you know, do they intend to stop it? We'll never know. But I think in all of our work with composers, I not only the, the score, but the interpretation has quite dramatically changed from working with composers. Sometimes we'll start off, not with you, Ella, but mm-hmm. We might start off at the tempo that's written on the score and the composer say, oh no, that's totally wrong. You're like, well, that's what it says. Oh no, but that's wrong. I changed it. Right. So music, it's, it's alive, you know, and we were able to bring so much more to the music that can't be notated on the score through having your input and, um, and I, I think vice versa, a couple of little things changed on the score because of how we were playing as well.
Hmm. So, yeah, I agree with Krista. It, it feels like, to me, it feels like it was written for us. So I'm very happy to claim it as our piece.
[:[00:14:31] Alison Tenorio: That's lovely. The, the ability for music to be interpreted different ways because it's not just what's on the, the paper in front of you to be interpreted by different musicians that pick up the piece of music is a really special thing for you I'm sure Ella as a composer. Um, but I, I really love the connection that Muses Trio has had with you and has been able to develop what you have had written down on the score. I think that's very special for you as a, a composer.
[:[00:16:57] Alison Tenorio: Alright, so let's start looking at the score. So in "Eternity", you have Ella selected 11/8 as the time signature. A bit of an unusual time signature, but it doesn't remain in 11/8 throughout. Can you take us through some of your decision making um, process and why this multi metric approach best fits the message that you are hoping to convey to your audience?
[:So it's not that I chose 11/8 and went right, this piece is an 11/8 and it's gonna change here and here and here and here. It was more that, you know, on that day when I was sitting at the piano and this initial ostinato and idea came to life under my fingertips. That's just what it was. And so then I had to work out what that is in notation and, yeah, that's how we kind of landed at 11/8 it was purely, um, yeah, very intuitive. And again, I think as a younger composer I would've gone, oh gosh, like, but I don't know how to treat that and I don't know what to do with it next after I've got those opening two bars of, you know, Theresa's intro. So, you know, I might have changed it. I might have again in inverted com- um, commas, like simplified it to make it something that I understood more as a younger composer. But now I just trust my instinct. And that's all you can do at the end of the day. So work it out, feel it, sing it. Um. The little kind of melodic line that Therese even brings out in the right hand it's still the same ostinato and same time a signature, but there's a few different points of emphasis and a few pictures being added there that start to create like an a new melody that's just kind of woven itself out of that tapestry of the ostinato and, all of that for me was pretty organic. Using the voice, again, a lot to start to find what's the next layer and what's the next layer and as Louise mentioned, you know, there is this really strong dialogue in this piece. Yeah. The next stage is probably improvising at the piano and then trying to transcribe it, but I might go to Garage Band on the way and you know, put that audio file into Garage Band and then add a couple of voice recording layers and sing the cello line and sing the violin line at least for a bit to get things going.
So yeah, the 11/8's not so scary to me anymore. 'cause actually it came from the inside out, not the outside in. And if you trust that process, then you can't really go wrong.
[:[00:20:16] Ella Macens: I think every composer's back just like hunched over in fear a little bit, as you said that Yeah, definitely was a very, uh, hands-on approach. And also like singer- songwriter is a big part of my life as a musician, so although it's for a classically, you know, kind of based ensemble and it is classical music, there's certainly a lot of pop elements in this as well.
And so really I could, you know, I could also play this as block chords as a pop song and pop some lyrics and sing it for you, maybe we can do that in another unit. Yeah. And then for me also, I mean, the 11/8 is one is the way that we represent the idea, right? But the idea itself is what's most important.
And so going back to the title and the concept for this movement titled "Eternity", I mean, 11/8 really stops anyone from tapping their foot, to it on a regular basis, or you can dance, but it would be quite interpretive and quite fluid. So, you know, you don't get the sense of like a rock beat in here and you don't get the sense that the mosh pit's gonna be jumping up and down, I wanted it to be free, fluid, open, expansive. It's almost like one stream of water, right that just like never stops. And so, as you mentioned, like there's a few moments in the piece, um, where the time signature does change. Like for example, bar 10 we have the first 12/8 time signature, which in that moment might feel like sweet relief because oh, okay, like that one I can conceive a bit easier, you know?
Um, and so that was there for me, it's like a, a way to create a moment of like enhanced stability. But before then it let it be at figure B, we, we go back into the 11/8. So yeah, I change time signatures a lot in my music and largely it's to really mimic like space and resonance, but also human and breath, like the humanness and breath in music.
So you'll often find in my works, I'm sure it happens here, we can find a few examples to point listeners to but, the end of a phrase might often have like an extra beat or an extra couple of quavers and we know now through our knowledge of like breath and meditation that if we have a longer exhale, than an inhale we are automatically sending signs to our body that we are safe and it's safe to activate, you know, our parasympathetic our rest and digest and, and feel good state.
And so that's a really interesting way that I think the music kind of soothes itself. Often at the end of the musical phrase, you'll have that extra moment there, it's like, you know, the building and then the release comes when the next phrase starts. So that actually, you know, could explain why there's a 12 eight in bar 10 just before the next section begins.
It's a moment to catch the breath before the idea recommences.
[:[00:22:57] Ella Macens: Sure.
[:[00:23:00] Alison Tenorio: Sure.
[:Yeah. So that, that was the imagery for me.
[:[00:23:42] Alison Tenorio: That's a really lovely way to look at it. Therese. Um, we might move on to the piano part now, Therese, if you don't mind. So your part begins with eight bars of solo piano. And for you, there's more complexities in the opening than just counting the 11 quaver beats in the bar.
Can you explain how you approached learning this movement?
[:So it's really for me that the process is about going back and forth from the micro to, to the macro of really working out the physical choreography, whether it be I have to move inside from my thumb on a black key. If, the music sounds very simple, but there are lots of jumps underneath it, it sounds very legato because the pedal is on, so it's being clear on what can I connect, what can I let go so that it becomes very automatic and it sounds very dry and technical, but the relationship to, to the interpretation is, is such that, that they really do feed each other. And so once the the physical choreography is established, your hands really start to suggest sound and timbre to you. And then also when you put your ears on that and then you might notice, oh, there was an accent I didn't want, or something sounded a little bit unprepared or sudden then you go back saying, oh yeah, I forgot to do this, or I wasn't quite sure of where I had to to send my arm to. So it really does go hand in hand, excuse the pun.
But then when working on the sound world, um, it really had to glow, for me and that's what I was looking for, as I was saying before, I really had to play on the harmonics and the, particularly the intervals at the fifth, lots of ringing effects, like when you have a low bass note, you can really use that and, you know, techniques such as using staccato with the pedal on, um, gives it that kind of ringing quality to the sound, again, it's more about sort of harmonics flying around rather than something being sort of solid and, and earthbound is really looking for sort of these sort of flying, um, glowing, sort of like an illuminating kind of sound, which would project around the room. So yeah, it's, it's, it's beautifully written for the piano.
[:[00:26:09] Therese Milanovic: Yeah, so the harmonic series, so the, if you have like the fundamental note and then you have the octave and then it goes up to the fifth, so you, you can play it in such a way that'll actually activate all of those notes through the harmonic series. You can, you can really play with that and have fun with that, with, with the piano. So using the pedal and using a staccato touch with the pedal on. And so it's, you know, it's about choosing your, which notes to hide, which notes to bring out that definitely the fifths have a particular resonance and I think Ella really uses that to great advantage in the writing for this piece.
[:[00:26:57] Louise King: Sure. So basically we have the bass clef, which obviously is the most obvious general clef that cellists would use. Then we also have the tenor clef, which is used extensively in this movement as well as the treble clefs. We actually have three clefs as cellists to read, and it's been used throughout, uh, this movement of the work. And in many ways that's to also kind of identify, I suppose, the register. So of course the difference between a violinist and a cellist is we generally will read three clefs, whereas a violinist would obv, obviously use a higher, uh, pitch. Uh, lots of ledger lines. Um, I'm hopeless with ledger lines, so I love it when composers really do embrace the three clefs that we can use, and of course, tenor clef is that wonderful, tenor range. Uh, whereas that kind of beautiful, kind of almost like a backing vocal kind of range harmony line for the violin. And then there's times in this movement where I actually, I'm higher in pitch than the violin. And that's obviously where the treble clef can come in as well. But generally speaking, there's about a three octave range that we would be employing in this kind of work and it really adds to the expression, because I can weave around the violin up and down and we can really enjoy, uh, that sonority. And that's totally different to using a cello in a different chamber of music setting, such as a string quartet, depending obviously on the, the genre of the composer. But I think it's very song led and very lyrical writing.
The most challenging thing about some of the, uh, entries are actually finding the pitches, so to help students, for example, bar 31. That took me about six attempts to actually find that D flat pitch. 'cause you've gotta find it somewhere in the middle of the fingerboard with no, you know, to the point where you go, do I need a sticker?
And then there's also a point, um, in 82, which was very difficult, just three beautiful exquisite notes that just kind of comment on what the violin has had. But again, you've gotta find that D flat again, midpoint, and just launch at it and just hope it's there. Particularly in a concert that can be the most stressful two points for me in the work, but obviously in a recording you get a wonderful second chance.
[:[00:29:11] Louise King: No worries.
[:[00:29:20] Louise King: I reckon there's so many beautiful prompts from Ella. There's so many gorgeous words like playfully and even of course, just graceful at the start.
I, those word prompts instantly crystallize the kind of tone palette she's looking for. So I look for those. And then also for me, the use of the bow slurring indicates a lot of legato phrasing, and she's very clear on things like portamentis. You'll see some lines, connecting notes where she wants slides, and those to me are.
Are wonderful ways to quickly crystallize how she's wanting to hear the line being played.
[:And the other thing is just listening to Ella talk about it really. It's helped me interpret, you know, I love the way in violin part, she does use the entire range of the violin. Um, so right down on the G string to lots and lots of ledger lines and it's beautiful. And plus harmonics, you know, and also just jumping on on the 11/8. So I mean, my instinct would be to play 11/8, quite rhythmic and pulse, but there is a lot of rhythm and pulse and I think personally that rhythm is more expressive harmony. But we won't go into that conversation. But I feel that rhythm is very, very expressive, and I think it's so beautiful in this piece in particular, but it's not an obvious really pounding rhythm, which you could do with 11/8 and would be very expressive. And that's the challenge of the piece, is to be sort of this floating gorgeous long lines and really not get bogged down in any, because you're really thinking about the 11/8. It's really just to make these lines so much longer, but still have this gorgeous undulating of this asymmetric rhythm that's happening, which sometimes has a 10/8 or a 12/8 thrown in as well.
And other times where the 11/8 is still 11/8, but it's just felt differently within the bar as well, depending on where the melody is.
Yeah, it's beautiful.
[:[00:32:22] Alison Tenorio: In the accompaniment, Ella, it's based on a lot of ostinatos, what other pitch features, you know, looking at, uh, melody, harmony, tonality are evident in, um, the composition, the second movement "Eternity" from the Brightest Star in the Night?
[:Um, and more than thinking about it as something very technical and theoretical, again, my intuition guides me in that. And what I'm looking for always when I'm composing is, you know, am I singing this melody that I wrote this morning, that evening when I'm cooking dinner? And if I am, then that's a really good sign, like if I can recall it quite quickly and quite easily, um, if it flows very comfortably and fluidly, like for my vocal cords and in my, you know, my kind of singing voice, then generally that's like an intuition that I will follow and I will trust that there's something like really pure and accessible about that and, you know, not that I'm writing for other people, I actually write, it's an expression for myself and of my life, but usually if I trust those instincts for, specifically for the melody, I find that it really resonates with people, whether they're performers or listeners, then that's kind of like what the link is. You know, like if the sentence is clear and meaningful and in intentioned, and by sentence, I also mean like a musical sentence, like a phrase, right? If the, if the feeling of it, the length of it and what it does and what it says or asks is clear, then it's a really beautiful way to, you know, share an idea or a concept in this ever expanding accessible form being music. So for me, when I'm writing, melody is just such a strong part and I feel that in this one, like a lot of these ideas were conceived as vocal melodies. So I think it was Therese who mentioned like there's a singing kind of quality to the work as well. And that's really great that other people can pick up on that 'cause that's how they were also conceived. Harmonically, the music that I write is usually pretty diatonic, and what that means is I have a tendency to stay pretty centered, you know, like in the key area, and use the chords available within that one key. And to extend that, you might add a seventh or a ninth or using versions creatively.
In this particular work I did want to, it might come up when we discuss kind of unity in contrast a little bit, but I did want to hint at the melancholic, reflective, part of the story, which is that being 94 means there's a lot of life to process, a lot of life to accept and not so much life left to connect forwards with. And so for me, like more of a minor tonality was a pretty significant thing in that. And not that because, not because it was sad to me, actually, there was a great deal of faith and trust in this whole process for myself personally. But it's a way to, I guess, target or hint at the deeper undercurrents within ourselves, and whether that's the questions we have about challenging situations or the uncertainties that we face in a multitude of different ways. So for me, the opening, for example, doesn't sound happy to me at all, it doesn't necessarily feel sad either, but it's like this liminal space between, there's a pondering, there's an opportunity for reflection, but it's definitely more anchored towards the minor than the major.
Um, and then the first shift we hear is at C where we kind of move into a, a happier tonality. It's a bit more optimistic, a bit more, lilting and uplifting and a bit more playful. And you know, in the story behind the work, that was also important for me to show that it's also about the joy of connection, the joy of knowing, and the joy of life.
So throughout, you know, listeners will see when they, uh, discover the score that there are a couple of changing key signatures throughout, and really that's to foreground and showcase, I guess the emotive quality of what different keys can provide. And what's interesting is if we were to transpose all of this up or down, even one semitone, I don't know if I would recognise all of the piece anymore. It would actually feel completely different. So that's something just for, you know, young composers to also play around with is like, where does an idea feel best? And in my experience, it's usually where it was conceived first, because that's actually where it came from. When we're speaking, you know, for more of like a higher consciousness level.
And then for the very finale of the composition, you know, our listeners might look at the score and say, wow, okay, there's a lot of accidentals creeping in here, what's going on there? And so I did really, really wanna convey that idea of something, it's almost like the resonance entering the realm that we don't understand so much of, um, the unknown, but it's a very peaceful transition constantly climbing, unfolding, evolving. I liked the idea of this kind of cycle happens quite a few times to end the piece because that really goes to show that although the piece has to end somewhere, I can't ask Muses Trio to play for the rest of their lives in this particular work. But the music kind of hints at that expansive quality and so hence the modulation kind of fragments at the end, um, that are still weaving, you know, the core motif.
I think in terms of motific development, the one part that I'd love to highlight is, for example, the interplay between the violin and cello around bar 81, 82, 83, where it's like a technique, what we call fragmentation. So one of the main core melodies is here disperse between, um, the violin and the cello, but we also bring in harmonics as a way to kind of state the melody and the phrase in a slightly unique and different way to show that something is changing.
And these are all kind of cues, right? That we're coming to the end of the composition. We've been through the journey and we're now finding a way to put a full stop on something that actually never has a full stop. Yeah.
[:[00:38:01] Ella Macens: Yes.
[:[00:38:14] Ella Macens: Yeah, this was like my absolute favorite question when I was studying Music 1 in high school, 'cause it's the one that I felt, I think the easiest to connect to because it really brings in all the concepts of music into that one what's kind of labeled as its own area of, um, study right. Okay. So. In terms of harmony and melody, I mean, I've just alluded a little bit to the beginning, um, feeling like you know more in the kind of minor tonality and at C we had like a real lift in that, but that's very fleeting after C we've head straight back to where we came from and we kind of revisit that darker more, you know, less transparent kind of mood for, again, at G the whole, quality of it when you kind of shift keys and you emphasise that major for me in this work, it opens up, it's kind of more inviting, it's less kind of in the head and ruminating and thinking and more. And there's a clearer vision I think at that point. And so the work really oscillates between kind of soloing these artists as well, playing this particular piece, so obviously Therese on the piano like really sets the scene for us. And as the strings start to kind of come in, it's kind of like they're introducing themselves slowly, they are creeping in with the quietest dynamics, which is a big way I think I've created unity and contrast in this work as well in how does each, how does each instrument in this ensemble make their presence known? And sometimes that's creeping in the back door and it's very lyrical and smooth and you know, very held and almost precious. Then there's other moments where, you know, the two string lines are kind of in duet together, and they're never in competition, but they're always complimenting. But someone's always either in the foreground or they're like a combined force singing their, you know, their phrase.
So for me, fragmentation, whether it's kind of taking bits apart and highlighting those or kind of bringing them all in into this unified kind of focal centre for probably more dramatic impact than anything else. Yeah, there's a lot of different things we could talk about. Probably be here for a couple of hours, but as I mentioned before, it's also then taking previously heard ideas and maybe hearing it in a different register in a different octave, or maybe it's in a harmonic this time instead of in an ordinary form. So there are all kinds of ways we can rely on and tap into the capabilities of each instrument. There are hundreds of ways that I could have written this, and the trick is actually landing on just a few.
And then handing that to the musicians and allowing them to put their spin on it. Yeah. Even, for example, Louise at towards the end of the composition has some beautiful cello like chordal, pizzicatos. I'd like to argue that they're not random, they definitely serve a purpose, and it's knowing sometimes when to use what technique. And for me, I loved that that brought it feeling of groundedness, of like connection to earth and roots it felt like deeper and richer. And I thought that was a really nice, um, quality to bring in as the piece was starting to hint that it was coming to an end. Showing that something has changed and the conversation's gone elsewhere.
Yeah.
[:[00:41:09] Ella Macens: I'd love for them all to really lean into what each individual line has to say. And there's kind of a delicate interplay in this of treating it like you're a soloist, but then obviously you're not a soloist and there's certain things that need to be considered when you're playing with a surrounding ensemble. So I guess what I mean by that is I'd love for each individual line to be played as if it's its own perspective, because that's actually what they're all bringing into this. Bring in your, your own individual character and then work out how to balance that out um, with your peers around you. 'cause within that it's a very, it's a very fun opportunity.
So yeah, to confidently engage with your individual line and what is the story it's trying to share. You know, are you the foreground, are you the background? Are you the juice in the middle? And regardless of which one you are, you have a very important role to play. So tapping into that role and trusting that, and then finding a balance with all of the players around you, I think that'd be a really fun thing to explore.
Yeah.
[:[00:42:12] Christa Powell: It's actually the hardest bit in the piece.
Just such little section. It's beautiful. And I totally agree with, with Ella, is really knowing where you are because there is a section from around 48, uh, or a little bit before, do you recall, Ella, we had endless conversations about this line in the violin? My naturally instinct was, was to play it as the big solo line. In the end it was really brought back a little bit and, and a lot more subdued, but still feeling like a solo line, but not just being ostentatious, I guess. And then, then also, you know, from, from H as well, from 51 that is another classic example of the time signature moving, undulating and moving and really having to think about a really long line. So thinking, you know, 51 all the way through to 63 is a long, line and really being absolutely precise with the rhythm and the time signatures, but not letting the audience feel that you're counting and trying to make it precise.
It just is fluid because it is such a beautiful moment in the piece if it just flows and undulates, and yet that's a lot of hard work, work of the ducks legs flapping around under the water to make it happen.
[:We have to get very comfortable with, um, those rhythmic divisions. So trusting Dr. Beat, get your metronome on and really feel free within that metric as well. I think there's also a unifying moment at H where you feel like you kind of arrived somewhere, um, as a collective and then. Commentary, um, behind the scenes as well after that. So again, just knowing what your role is always is very good in that sense. Yeah. Counting is gonna really give you that success metric, I think, in the section.
[:[00:44:55] Alison Tenorio: It's a really important point that collaboration within an ensemble and that you have that understanding of the other members within your ensemble and that you can communicate that effectively within an ensemble.
[:[00:45:55] Therese Milanovic: And then I think for any pianist preparing this piece, I think you really ideally want to come to the rehearsal being secure enough in your own part that you can be completely available to react and respond to what the other players are doing.
I find that, that this piece with, within that, the metre, it's really about allowing it to unfold and, being present to it rather than like pushing and driving and like kind of, you know, for example, like creating this, this huge climax. Um, it's really more of an organic experience, but for that magic to happen, you need to do the, the not so shiny work of really carefully preparing and, and honing your skills and you're with, with tone production as well, so the range is from double p to mf but within that there has to be so many shades and colours and, um, that's where, that's where you have to sweat a little bit to have that control over your instrument, that it can be at the stage that you can just play with it. You can just react in the moment, which is really beautiful.
[:[00:47:17] Alison Tenorio: I was just going to say it's a very important skill listening to sit back and listen and take it in interpret.
[:So that might be an interesting approach to try as well.
[:[00:48:44] Ella Macens: And every student or every listener will have their own way to connect with. I mean, obviously I have a, a concept behind the piece, and it's very personal to me, but everyone will be able to find if they want to, will be able to open up and have the vulnerability to tap into their own, their own, I guess take on that particular story, you know, that's woven between, and I feel that's always when you can see when someone's really connected to their personal, you know, what's their personal connection to the idea.
It's just undeniable that that brings out the most exquisite performance and the most exquisite presence from that performer. Which I have been very lucky to see here with these amazing musicians.
[:And just really embody that. Certainly as a younger musician, I think that's really important, but some of them, the melodies are very soul like, so they're easy to absorb.
[:[00:49:59] Ella Macens: So I think it's really exciting and important to remember that we don't need a million different ideas to create a musical work. And sometimes just a few ideas used in creative and interesting ways is an all we need to create. Um, a short or a long musical composition. And so one idea that I would love to perhaps suggest is how about grabbing, you know, four to five different coloured highlighters and going through and seeing what patterns you, yourselves can find in this musical score? And in doing so, I think it will show you that even in the kind of trickier patches where it looks, very complex material. You'll actually find that there's somewhere else previously in the piece where you've highlighted that same idea, the same colour, and I think then when you can kind of connect this map together, suddenly it let looks less like a lot of different ideas that you have to learn in isolation and more like, oh, well here's this particular fragment that I heard in a phrase at the start in the piano, and how was it played in the piano line, or how was the idea interpreted there? You can kind of start to connect the dots, like a, like a big puzzle. I've done that with a number of students analysing this piece before and they've always gone, oh wow, so actually there's not that much going on here. It's just, you know, where is it being played and how is it being played, and who is it playing to, and are they responding in the same way?
So I've always found that to be really interesting experience from a compositional perspective to pull that piece apart and actually unveil what's beneath. I think when we hear it, we intuitively just trust it. I think this music feels quite easy to trust and easy to surrender to, and to let it guide you as the listener.
And it's sometimes quite exciting to see the score and find it a bit daunting, but then you pull it to pieces yourself and you realise, actually I do understand the core features that are, you know, weaving this tapestry together.
[:[00:51:51] Louise King: Embodying the rhythm helps me moving, so the idea of embodiment, actual gesturing, interpretive dance, you know, they'd be able to feel the metric. I think let your imagination go wild. Perhaps try and imagine almost like a film, what would you be kind of creating if there was a visual component to this?
Also imagine movement. How, how would that feel in your body to actually kind of sway or gesture along with the lines. Um, and another thing I always talk about is, music at the moment is printed black and white, yet I never think in black and white. I'm always thinking texture, timbre, colours. So perhaps colour in the score. Now that would be fun.
[:[00:52:52] Therese Milanovic: What a wonderful opportunity to get your hands on this beautiful piece.
So if you do play one of these three instruments, don't stop it, just listening to the CD, you know, actually learn it and get people together in the room and, and experience it because it is just such a different experience to be in the middle of music being created as opposed to being a passive listener.
And then once that's done, I mean, for me, music is, it's not enough just to play for myself it has to be shared, and I think that's how we keep this tradition alive and how music continues to live on is through the minds and hearts of bodies of the next performers who take this piece. So I would love to hear of many trios playing this whether its to family and friends or at a school concert or whatever that might be.
I guess I suggest to people to, if there is a recording to listen at, at the start, um, so that you have a sense of the whole, and so that when you're learning your individual part, you can hear the other lines so you really know how your part fits into the whole. But then to put the recording away and to really let it seep and, and form your own interpretation and find your own way through it.
And then. I quite like to go back just before the concert and listen again, and often if that recording, the initial recording just seems like a completely different piece because I've journeyed and you know, found my own pathway through it. And so you might come back and find things that you'd loved and things that you'd forgotten, or things that you might say, I really respect that, but I'd actually like to do that differently and that's completely valid and welcomed as well.
[:Ella Macens "Eternity" is one of the works studied in the Stage 5 Music of our solar system unit.
The unit and resources are available on the New South Wales Department of Education Creative Arts curriculum website. A link has been provided in the description, the copyright permissions for the second movement of the Brightest Star in the Night "Eternity" have been granted by composer Ella Macens and Muses Trio organisation, Muses Trio.
[:The music for this podcast was composed by Creative Arts advisor, Alex Manton.
