Live performance of Ravel's Chansons madécasses performed at the Coriole Music Festival and broadcast on ABC Classic radio. Performers were Victoria Lambourn (mezzo-soprano), Mei Yi Foo (piano), Joshua Batty (flute) and Simon Cobcroft (cello).
NTRO Output Type
- Live Performance of Creative Work
NTRO Output Category
- Live Performance of Creative Work : Music
Place
Adelaide, AustraliaVenue
Coriole Music FestivalNTRO Publisher
ABC ClassicStart Date
2025-05-16End Date
2025-05-16Medium
live performance recorded for ABC Classic radio (broadcast 18 June 2025)Research Statement
Classical chamber music.
Rare performance of an important work in Ravel's oeuvre. The texts, published in 1787, pose a problem for modern performers because of their sexism and cultural appropriation. The researcher discussed her solution, to interpret the songs as an intermediary performer, in a pre-concert talk. The intermediary performer is a device found in e.g., Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing), and refers to a person who is understood to be delivering a text that is written in the second person on behalf of another person.
The challenge of this approach was in how to perform the songs with distance between performer and text without compromising the vitality of the music. Reflecting on the performance, the researcher felt that the approach worked best for the 3rd song. Ravel’s writing in the 2nd song is too emotionally charged, and the instinct to deliver vocal gestures in the 1st song as emotional responses took over in the performance. The research revealed the challenges of interpreting problematic texts through the lens of the intermediary performer and suggests that this works best for pieces with low emotional energy.
The performance received a 5-star review in Limelight magazine: https://limelight-arts.com.au/reviews/coriole-music-festival-2025/Size or Duration of Work
3 movements, approximately 15 minutes total
