Sirenity
for amplified string quartet (2013)
Sirenity explores the mythology of the siren - hybrid woman with either bird-like or mer-like physical qualities, whose beautiful voices lured the all-too-easily corruptible minds of sailors to their peril.
Channelling spectralist, minimalist and ecoacoustic approaches, the work retains this dyadic relationship of characters: the sirens through humpback whale song and the sailor/victim in the airborne caws and calls of the wandering albatross (both sourced from recordings), with the former drawing the latter to its impending doom; the aftermath decaying back to the torrents of the sea.
Performed by the Australian String Quartet - Kristian Winther, Ioana Tache, Stephen King, Sharon Draper - as part of the National Composers' Forum 2013 in Elder Hall on 17 October 2013. Recorded by Kym Wilson, with technical assistance from Iran Sanadzadeh.