Celebrating its centenary in 2020, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs commissioned 100 minutes of new Australian music. After three years of pandemic induced delays and Zoom rehearsals, we were finally treated to two of these works, which demonstrate the exciting and diverse voices in modern Australian music.

James Henry performs the world premiere of his work Murrgumurrgu with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, 2023. Photo © Simon Crossley-Meates

The musical acknowledgement of Country Tarimi Nulay by Deborah Cheetham Fraillon and Matthew Doyle (also one of the commissioned works) transitioned into the world premiere of Murrgumurrgu by James Henry. The piece celebrates the oft-maligned ibis in the style of traditional Aboriginal music. Henry opens the work, singing the simple, hypnotic melody, accompanied only by clapsticks. The massive choir (overflowing in the choir stalls and boxes) joins him in powerful unison, followed by the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra, building to a tremendous chorus.

Elena Kats-Chernin’s Human Waves is a collection of movements capturing the tales of multiple generations of Australian immigrants, highlighting their dangerous escapes from their home country, dreams of a new life, and fascination for new customs and cultural fixations (with a whole...