Australian Chamber Orchestra: River

In their latest collaboration with film-maker Jennifer Peedom, the ACO and Richard Tognetti offer a haunting exploration of the power of rivers.

Stunning visual imagery and sublime music from Europe and Australia flow together for the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s extraordinary exploration of the importance of rivers to our world.

Rivers cover less than one percent of the planet’s surface, yet they are central to the development of human society. Offering sources of sustenance, power, transport and more, they inhabit roles from familiar settings of home (such as here in London), to awe-inspiring demonstrations of nature’s power, and are even worshiped as deities. Nevertheless, we use them, abuse them and ignore their vital role in our existence.

Putting the fundamental nature of these essential elements of planetary forces front-and-centre is the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s latest awe-inspiring film-and-concert project River. It combines dramatic imagery of the world’s great waterways with music by some of the best-known western classical composers and one of Australia’s most acclaimed Indigenous musicians, William Barton. Actor Willem Dafoe voices a script written by renowned author Robert Macfarlane.

‘River was designed to inspire awe and wonder and connect people back to nature,’ says director Jennifer Peedom. ‘My hope is that it can also play a role in helping us understand the dangerous consequences of our actions and how our future depends on the natural world.’

Through the power of photography and music, River asks us to question our treatment of the world’s waterways. And, this being the Australian Chamber Orchestra, an important element of the meditative work is an exploration of the relationship between Indigenous cultures and rivers. Flowing through the programme is a new collaboration between ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, leading didgeridoo player, composer and singer William Barton, and Australian composer Piers Burbrook de Vere.

‘We are kin to rivers, connected in ecology and spirit,’ says Indigenous writer, critic and researcher Tristen Harwood. ‘To speak of Indigenous peoples’ connection to rivers is to speak of the essence that sustains us in the world. The river is language, song, philosophy, ceremony, life-source – our social world.’

Barton explains to Harwood: ‘As I sing, I’m picturing my “old” people, my uncles and aunties – my ancestors – and it transports me to my home country, even though I might be singing alongside visuals [in River] that are from around the world.’

Peedom recalls when Barton came to record his final vocal track: ‘William asked if he could take some time to respond emotionally to the film. What followed was an uninterrupted, improvised 15-minute vocal performance. When it was over, I looked around the room, and we were all in tears. It’s haunting and sublime. When he returned to the control room, he told me he had channelled his ancestors and ancestral ties to Kalkadunga country.’

Like Mountain (performed here in 2018), River was conceived primarily as a concert film – with music as the starting point. This created its own technical challenges, says Peedom, who also directed the previous film. ‘The foundation of the soundtrack of River is pre-existing classical repertoire. In general, this kind of music is very challenging to edit in a way that both maintains its integrity and meets the very specific requirements of the film – its need for music to fit the length of scenes, or to carry and influence the emotional responses of audiences.’

She says Tognetti’s decision to include J S Bach’s solo violin Chaconne is a prime example of his vision and talent for arrangement. ‘[The film] includes an amazing drone shot, part of an early scene-setting sequence about the birth of rivers,’ she says. ‘When Richard saw it, he was adamant that he wanted to use the Chaconne, even though it is 15 minutes long and written for solo violin. For months he explored how he might make the piece work for the smaller ACO ensemble. I was initially sceptical, but every time I watch that sequence in the finished film, I get goosebumps.’

The breadth of the music selected for River is a signature of the ACO, International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court. The programme includes works by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Antonio Vivaldi, Gustav Mahler, Jean Sibelius, Maurice Ravel, Pēteris Vasks and Thomas Adès, all of which generated their own creative questions. And Tognetti’s response, with his profound knowledge of music and determination to produce unforgettable experiences, is fundamental to the production of another extraordinary concert-hall experience.

For all the damage that humans do to the planet’s freshwater systems, there is hope, as this thought-provoking cinematic production shows. Life comes back to rivers – if we give them a chance.

Programme and performers

Antonio Vivaldi Violin Concerto in D major, RV232: Largo*
Richard Tognetti Deep Time
Piers Burbrook de Vere Birth
Johann Sebastian Bach (arr Richard Tognetti) Partita for Solo Violin No 2 in D minor, BWV1004: Chaconne*
Richard Tognetti/Piers Burbrook de Vere/William Barton Wildness
Richard Tognetti/Piers Burbrook de Vere Intervention
Richard Tognetti Magic; Archive
Jean Sibelius Voces intimae, Op 56: Vivace* (arr strings)
Piers Burbrook de Vere Globalisation
Richard Tognetti Pyres
Jonny Greenwood Water*
Richard Tognetti/Piers Burbrook de Vere/William Barton Ritual
Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in G minor, RV578: Adagio e spiccato – Allegro*
Richard Tognetti/Piers Burbrook de Vere Industrialisation
Richard Tognetti Greed; Downside of Dams; Pollution
Pēteris Vasks Vox amoris*
Piers Burbrook de Vere Are We Being Good Ancestors?
Thomas Adès O Albion
Jonny Greenwood Water*
Maurice Ravel (arr Tognetti) String Quartet: Assez vif – Très rythmé
Jonny Greenwood Water*
Radiohead Harry Patch (In Memory Of)
Richard Tognetti/William Barton, after Gustav Mahler How We Feel
Gustav Mahler (arr Tognetti) Symphony No 4: Ruhevoll (Poco adagio)*
* This work or movement is abridged for this performance

Australian Chamber Orchestra
Richard Tognetti director & violin
William Barton vocalist
Nigel Jamieson staging director
Jennifer Peedom director
Robert Macfarlane writer
Willem Dafoe narrator

Artist biographies

The Australian Chamber Orchestra lives and breathes music, recognised around the world for its powerful performances and brave interpretations. Steeped in history but simultaneously looking to the future, its programmes embrace celebrated classics alongside new commissions, as well as adventurous cross-artform collaborations.

It has been led by Artistic Director Richard Tognetti since 1990, and gives more than 100 concerts each year. Whether performing in Manhattan, New York, or Wollongong, NSW, the ACO is unwavering in its commitment to creating transformative musical experiences.

The orchestra regularly collaborates with artists and musicians who share its ideology: from Emmanuel Pahud, Steven Isserlis, Dawn Upshaw, Olli Mustonen, Brett Dean and Ivry Gitlis to Neil Finn, Jonny Greenwood, Barry Humphries and Meow Meow; to visual artists and film makers such as Bill Henson, Shaun Tan, Jon Frank and Jennifer Peedom, who have co-created unique, hybrid productions for which the ACO has become renowned.

Testament to its international reputation is the three-year residency (beginning in the 2018–19 season) here at the Barbican as International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court. This residency followed on from the success of ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti’s time as the Barbican’s first ever Artist-in-Residence at Milton Court Concert Hall.

In addition to its national and international touring schedule, the orchestra has an active recording programme across CD, vinyl and digital formats. Its recordings of Bach’s violin works won three consecutive ARIA Awards. Recent releases include Water | Night Music, the first Australian-produced classical vinyl for two decades, Indies & Idols, and the soundtrack to the cinematic collaboration, River.

In 2020 the ACO launched its inaugural digital subscription ‘ACO StudioCasts’, a critically acclaimed award-winning season of cinematic and immersive concert films.

aco.com.au

William Barton is Australia’s leading didgeridoo player, as well as an esteemed composer, instrumentalist and vocalist. He has written works for didgeridoo and orchestras, string quartets, jazz and rock bands, as well as collaborations with some of Australia’s leading composers.

He started learning the instrument from his uncle Arthur Peterson, an elder of the Wannyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga people. His mother Delmae Barton, a singer, songwriter and poet who learnt to sing as a small child from listening to bird calls, also encouraged his love of music, leading him to work from an early age with traditional dance groups and fusion/rock jazz bands, orchestras, string quartets and mixed ensembles.

He uses his cultural heritage to present his didgeridoo fusion as a storyteller, engaging audiences in the uniqueness of Australia, its Aboriginal heritage and to challenge perspectives of the didgeridoo as an instrument. Throughout his diverse career he has forged a path in the classical musical world, working with leading ensembles including the Berlin and London Philharmonic orchestras and participating in historic events, such as the 2019 Commonwealth Day celebrations at Westminster Abbey, at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli and for the Beijing Olympics.

His awards include Winner of Best Original Score for a Mainstage Production at the 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards and Winner of Best Classical Album for Birdsong At Dusk in 2012. Last year he was the recipient of the prestigious Don Banks Music Award from the Australia Council.

Working with schoolchildren forms an important strand of his activities, and he gives workshops at schools all over Australia, where he teaches the next generation didgeridoo and storytelling.

William Barton has received honorary doctorates from Sydney and Griffith Universities, has released five albums on the ABC Classic label and contributed to several more recordings with prominent artists. Through his prodigious musicality and by building on his Kalkadunga heritage, he has considerably expanded the horizons of the didgeridoo.

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Australian Chamber Orchestra: River

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Programme and performers

Programme and performers

Artist biographies