Music / Vox Humana, directed by Judith Clingan. Overture Hall, Weston, July 19. Reviewed by ALANNA MACLEAN.
Not many concerts reach interval with the conductor/composer then offering a look at The Lord of the Rings to anyone who wants to come back.
By which time the audience had already been offered a pretty rich and full program of singing and playing and movement and imagery and thought from Judy Clingan and her huge creative tribe.
There were many local performers, but also strong representation from Japan, India and Taiwan, a tribute to her many years of touring and teaching and composing.
The energy in the Overture Hall was electric as the program began with works from Clingan, but also from composers such as Liam Waterford and Stephen Leek, who’d been part of the journey. Waterford’s setting of Judith Wright’s The Wattle Tree had a lovely solemnity and Leek’s Kondalilla, a gorgeous soundscape, had the singers spread out among the audience so the sound permeated everywhere.
Nadia Schneller provided moody flute pieces in David Cassat’s Reflection of Stars and Reflection of Fire. to cover preparations for some of the larger pieces of action and dance. Clingan’s Mythical Beasts, directed by Jess Dixon, provided some well-focused and character-filled dance solos portraying Dragon, Phoenix, Unicorn and Turtoise (a nod to both turtle and tortoise).
Clingan’s new work based on Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet gave dramatic and highly lyrical shape to some of Gibran’s poetry under Dixon’s confident direction, with dignified philosophising on various aspects of living, life and ultimately God, augmented by some lovely dance sequences.
We pretty well all stayed of course to revisit The Lord of the Rings pieces, many of which go back to 1967. Clingan’s version has a strong awareness of the vast original, creating music that clearly evokes the remote elves, the evil Gollum, the very moving mourning for Boromir and the down-to-earth Hobbits. This version also happily does not leave out that eccentric nature spirit Tom Bombadil.
If there was a standout moment it came from Imogen Knock’s mesmerising and focused performance in Galadriel’s solo I Sang of Leaves.
This show is going on the road to Sydney and Bellingen and then on to NZ for what might be Judy Clingan’s last major tour. Perhaps.
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