Following more than 100 performances across regional Australia and internationally, The Bowerbird Collective will perform their award-winning multimedia work Where Song Began at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Saturday, 6 June.

Inspired by Tim Low’s acclaimed book of the same name which reveals the Australian origins of the songbird species, Where Song Began is an hour-long performance hailed as “spectacular” by this masthead and “like being sung to by the country” by audience members. 

Co-founders and performers of The Bowerbird Collective are violinist Simone Slattery, the current ANAM Ian Potter Fellow, and Anthony Albrecht, Australia’s first graduate from The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program. Both hold PhDs and appear regularly as Principals with Van Diemen’s Band, Bach Akademie Australia, Pinchgut Opera and the Australian Haydn Ensemble, among others. 

The Bowerbird Collective. Photo supplied

In an interview with Limelight, Slattery spoke of her motivations for creating the work as a call to action for the protection of our threatened species.

“Thanks to our incredible birds, Australians are lucky to enjoy one of the most diverse and unique soundscapes on the planet,” says Slattery. “We have so much beauty to lose in this country if hearts and minds are not aligned with conservation efforts.”

Where Song Began and The Bowerbird Collective’s other nature themed productions have raised considerable funds and generated international press for various environmental issues. Songs of Disappearance, a series of albums featuring threatened species calls and released in partnership with BirdLife Australia, the Australian Museum and the Australian Conservation Foundation, earned the Bowerbird Collective an ARIA-nomination and a ranking at the top of Australia’s pop charts ahead of Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Adele.

This year, BirdLife Australia celebrates their 125th anniversary at the forefront of bird conservation, with the Melbourne Recital Centre performance serving as an unofficial birthday party. BirdLife Australia CEO Kate Millar is a believer in the power of the arts to engage audiences with conservation issues at an emotional level. 

“This innovative arts organisation has raised more than $90,000 for BirdLife Australia and we are grateful for their support,” Millar said. “We have been thrilled to collaborate with the Bowerbird Collective over recent years, and we are excited to continue our 125th anniversary celebrations at this stunning concert, not to be missed by bird and music lovers in Melbourne and beyond.”

Slattery and Albrecht produce their work with an intellectual and curatorial passion for detail. After reading Tim Low’s book, Slattery felt Where Song Began was a story that could be told in a deeply moving way with the combination of extraordinary music, still and moving images, as well as scientific and poetic text. 

Images and video feature by renowned Australians John Gollings, David Lancashire, Muneer Al Shanti, Steven Pearce and Henry Gold OAM, with further contributions from the Brett Whiteley Studio, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Gallery of Australia. Immersive stereo soundscapes were contributed by Andrew Skeoch, one of Australia’s foremost nature recordists. 

Simone Slattery performs Where Song Began. Photo supplied

Musical choices were made to emotively reflect the unfolding story. Slattery evokes the ancient timescale of songbird evolution with harmonic throat singing paired with the arpeggios of Arvo Pärt’s iconic Fratres, followed by a musical Acknowledgement of Country in the form of Sarah Hopkins’ Reclaiming the Spirit for solo cello. Vaughan Williams’ timeless depiction of flight from The Lark Ascending is paired with footage and sounds of endangered Carnaby’s Cockatoo’s, while later J.S. Bach’s Prelude No.1 in G for cello mingles with lyrebird calls, juxtaposing two of history’s greatest creators of song.

Challenging the European notion that songbirds must be sweet singers, SA-based composer David John Lang responded to his commission for the project by choosing the Red Wattlebird, highlighting the rough and raucous quality of many Australian songsters with a highly compelling rhythmic work for solo violin. Slattery closes the concert by singing in Yorta Yorta, performing the traditional hymn Ngarra Burra Ferra with special permission from the late Elder, Aunty Frances Mathyssen-Briggs AM, and her family.

Albrecht, who recently completed his PhD in Conservation Biology at Charles Darwin University studying the effects of environmental art on audience attitudes and behaviours, believes the experience of Where Song Began not only informs and entertains with its cinematic format, which was recognised with a Ruby Award from Create SA, but also engenders deep emotional connection to Country and conservation.

“The text we have chosen introduces Tim Low’s scientific observations to the audience within the emotional context of some glorious music,” Albrecht said. “This combined with poetic text, including a wonderful poem commissioned from Simone’s mother Maggie Slattery, make this concert a unique experience of both learning and awe for our birds.”

The Bowerbird Collective, Where Song Began. Photo supplied

The Bowerbird Collective, who are APRA AMCOS Luminary Award recipients, released Where Song Began independently on CD in 2019, which has since sold more than 1500 copies. Despite building a network of over 100 regional venue partners for their annual touring, reaching as far as Cape York, the Kimberley and King Island, Where Song Began has never been performed in Melbourne. 

“We can’t wait to perform Where Song Began at this stunning venue for the first time,” said Slattery. “Our work with The Bowerbird Collective has given us a great sense of purpose and motivation to create performances that have impact for nature, and we are so thankful for the support we have received from the science and conservation community”.

The Bowerbird Collective performs Where Song Began on 6 June at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. For more information and bookings visit bowerbirdcollective.org