This album marks the 30th anniversary of Brisbane choir The Australian Voices (TAV) and features works by several alumni, alongside three diverse works by current Artistic Director John Rotar. This is the 15th studio album of the top-notch ensemble, which is best known for their song Not Now, Not Ever, based on Julia Gillard’s 2012 Misogyny Speech, which went viral online.

Two former Artistic Directors – Stephen Leek and Gordon Hamilton – feature with new works. Leek’s Hurdy-Gurdy evokes the instrument’s drone in a setting of Tudor poet Fulke Greville’s text and Hamilton’s better is a powerful tour-de-force showcasing the choir’s pinpoint precision, energy and versatility. 

Sleepless is Canberra-based Olivia Swift’s haunting setting of 20th-century US poet Sara Teasdale’s verse about the hidden stresses of producing “a handful of songs” while Once by Adelaide’s Rosie O’Reilly recalls a more hopeful time with ecstatic longing. Brisbane’s Katherine Anderson’s Alleluia weaves an intimate web around the repeated single word while emerging

Sydney...