The Art of Disappearing

Join mezzo soprano Jenny Duck-Chong (Halcyon) and the Geist String Quartet for the world premiere of The Art of Disappearing, a poignant new song cycle by Sydney composer Cameron Lam.

The composer writes, "Written for and dedicated to mezzo soprano Jenny Duck-Chong after years of mentorship and friendship, The Art of Disappearing is an hour-long song cycle for voice and string quartet. I was drawn to the poetry of Queensland writer, Sarah Holland-Batt for its intimacy, musicality, and immense sense of self. The striking thing about Sarah’s poetry for me, was that it was arresting, it stopped me in my tracks—it sang all by itself and I just wanted to add to that."

Limelight Magazine has described Cameron’s music as "a fantastical world in which mythological stories comes to life." But drawn to the raw and profound poetry fof Sarah's collection Aria, in this new work he has delved deep into the traditions of art song and string quartet repertoire in search of a work of intimate connections. Songs and instrumentals are interwoven to tell stories of reminiscence, loss and grief through time. The cycle doesn’t present loss as something to solve; instead, it paints the inexorable journey from stasis, as we learn to move again…

Presented by Halcyon & Kammerklang, the evening will feature the world premiere performance, the launch of two digital albums and mark Kammerklang’s 10th anniversary.

Read more about the project on the links provided.