November has brought with it the welcome sounds of the ANAM musicians practising and rehearsing around the grounds of the Abbotsford Convent. The rolling lockdowns have kept us all on our toes, and I think we’re up to about the fourth iteration of the recital schedule for our musicians. The new-found appreciation we all have for even simple things like enjoying a coffee at the on-site bakery are palpable. Like most of the world, I think it’ll be some time before we take such seemingly small pleasures for granted.
These monthly blog updates seem to be full of ‘firsts’, and this one is no exception – in the last week we’ve finally seen the first rehearsals of those ANAM Set pieces that require more than one performer. Last Friday, I got to start participating too, as Oliver Crofts and I met for the first rehearsal of Elena Kats-Chernin’s Grand Rag for clarinet and piano. After practising the piano part on my own at home for the last month, this was a very special moment, reigniting the part of myself that reacts and responds to the musical gestures of my fellow performers, and reminding me why I love chamber music so much. A couple of days later I had a similar experience with Oliver Russell, as we started piecing together Jack Symonds’ Eau Vivante for cello and piano. While wandering around campus, I’ve heard from behind closed doors some tantalising electronic soundscapes, as ANAM musicians collaborate with sound technicians to realise those works that require some computerised co-ordination – yes, chamber music with MacBook is a thing!
In a couple of weeks, the musicians will start to present their end-of-year recitals, and the ANAM Set works will finally… finally receive their premieres... Of course, the world being what it currently is, the wider public will have to wait to hear these works a little bit longer still. But not too long. At the end of this month, over 40 of our musicians will enter the ABC studios to produce a recording of their Set work. As the ‘project that keeps on giving’, this new development to The Set adds several dimensions – it allows our musicians to experience the rigour and discipline of a professional studio environment, it provides some lasting audio documentation of the works, and it also allows our valued audience members and listeners a chance to hear the works in the not-too-distant future (and possibly from the comfort of your lounge rooms!) Be sure to keep an eye on the ANAM site for future broadcast details of these pieces.
We should also bear in mind that a ‘premiere’ is just that: the first performance of a work. The ANAM Set doesn’t end here... actually, this is just the first small step in the life-journey of these 67 pieces. Having heard about 20 or so of the works now, I am convinced that many of them will embed themselves into the repertoire, and become pieces that many performers both here and internationally will want to take up. I imagine they will continue to be learnt and championed long after the events of 2021 are a distant memory. They may, in fact, outlive all of us. And I find that thought rather wonderful.