Ave Maria

Tamara-Anna Cislowska (E)

Having lived in different countries, Elena Kats-Chernin has been surrounded by music from different backgrounds and with different intentions; from her mother playing piano in a small apartment in Tashkent, to the unpredictable Weimar-inspired cabaret shows in Sydney’s Kings Cross, to the rigour of her teacher Helmut Lachenmann’s ‘sonic possibilities’. Music was breath-taking, spicy, comforting, energising and thought-provoking.

Whenever she writes, Elena draws on these influences and colours. She says: ‘Sometimes I just don’t know what will come out next. It’s like a puppet show I’ve been invited to but there are always a few more puppets coming out of the shadows in the wings that you didn’t invite’.

Elena has written for operas, ballet and film, but some of her most personal compositions come out of writing about friends, or when paying tribute to a great life. This Ave Maria is such a piece, commissioned for WASO by Paul Rodoreda, the son of Mary (Maria) for whom the piece was written. It forms a series of reflections on Paul’s mother, and the six parts serve as a portrait of her and the way she loved music, as well as the way she moved through the world. A sea shanty marks her beginnings in Ballina (Northern New South Wales), frenetic music marks her extensive travels, a prayer to reflect her giving, caring nature, and a dedicated movement “Bird on the Bench” to honour her seat by the Swan River.

The voices of soprano soloist, Sara MacIver, and mezzo-soprano soloist, Fiona Campbell, were firmly in Elena’s head while writing the piece. Writing for a vocal duet is something that Elena considers a gift. The two timbres represent the younger and older Mary, often singing in tandem.
© Tamara-Anna Cislowska, 2022