There are special events and then there are SPECIAL events. The world premiere of Anne Cawrse’s song cycle All Flesh is Fire certainly falls into the latter category.

Presented as part of the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia, it is based on the poem Faith by Kate Llewellyn, which has also been included in the 2024 survey curated by José Da Silva.

Adelaide Chamber Singers perform All Flesh is Fire at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Photo © Sam Roberts.

Titled Inner Sanctum, the Biennial explores notions of refuge, privacy and the sacred, as well as how we engage with the world and those around us. And, as Da Silva suggested in his opening address, it positions the gallery as a place where the ordinary and the divine can unite.

He couldn’t have asked for a better opener than All Flesh is Fire.

With the glorious voices of the Adelaide Chamber Singers echoing through its historic Elder Wing, the Art Gallery of South Australia is exalted through their voices, Llewellyn’s words and Cawrse’s music.

Surrounded by the likes of Rodin, and with Rayner Hoff’s...