Shoal
six unaccompanied voices
Based on the poem Shoal by Les Murray
Commissioned by The Song Company
Performances & Reviews:
The Song Company [dir. Roland Peelman]
• Sydney Writers Festival, May 2003
• Premiered, The Loudmouth Festival, Feb. 2003, Newcastle
"It is also exciting to hear the music of the relatively youthful Ricketson more than holding its own among highly regarded international composers. In Shoal the composer uses tone clusters which shift pitch gradually but inexorably, dragging the ensemble in and out of unison in an uncanny representation of the collective consciousness of a shoal of fish." Sydney Morning Herald 28/05/03
“… the highlight was Shoal by Damien Ricketson, who surely spent hours underwater learning what a day in the life of a fish is like, and then managed to portray it in notes and rhythms. The Song Company were in their element, sliding between pitches, singing notes a fraction of a second behind each other and passing notes around like a whirlpool. They used their voices to create an amazing underwater picture, demonstrating their talent at its height with their perfectly synthesised teamwork." The West Australian 30/05/05
About Shoal:
Shoal is based on a poem by Les Murray of the same name. I imagine the music as though it were a heterogeneous unison. Like a shoal of fish, the vocal ensemble is conceived of as a collective unity, both multifarious and singular at the same time – loosening, tightening, drifting apart and snapping together in unison. Ebbing between solo and chorale, the individual and the community, a polyphony of seemingly separate elements aggregate towards a self-conscious whole. (Damien Ricketson)
Access Shoal:
An audio excerpt and the score of this work may be available to download on the Music page
