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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'A Tasmanian Requiem is an ambitious musical and visual conception that faces a past haunted by the terrible legacy of the Black War of Van Diemen’s Land.
'This groundbreaking collaboration between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists acknowledges the impact of frontier conflict and the strength, beauty and resilience of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture.
'Performed by Tasmania’s premiere brass ensemble, the Island Brass Quintet, with an extraordinary classical and contemporary vocal mix, A Tasmanian Requiem is at once disturbing and uplifting, a musical gift for a shared future.' (Production summary)
Production Details
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World premiere in the Theatre Royal, Hobart 13 -14 April 2018. A Gap in the Fence presentation performed by the Island Brass Quintet.
Composer: Helen Thomson
Written by: Greg Lehman, Jim Everett-puralia meenamatta and Frances Butler
Musical Director: Gary Wain
Visual Design: Julie Gough
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Explainer: How Tasmania’s Aboriginal People Reclaimed a Language, Palawa Kani
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 19 July 2018; -
Filming for the Requiem
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 27)'While filming around Tasmania, I slept many nights in my van, some outside it. I saw more stars than in previous years, and everything seemed crisper, clearer — not only due to upscaling from a HD to a 4k-resolution video camera. The intensity increased as the deadline approached. Michael Gissing and I collaborated on making a nine movement, 84 minute film as the back-drop of A Tasmanian Requiem.' (Introduction)
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Composing the Requiem
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 25)'Moving from idea, to concept, to libretto, to score, to production is always an extraordinary ride. A Tasmanian Requiem was something else again.' (Introduction)
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The Exile of History
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 23)'When British ships first arrived, seeking a new Paradise in what they called Van Diemen's Land, the island was already home to hundreds of Aboriginal families who called it lutruwita. But the British took little interest in Aboriginal culture. Lieutenant John Bowen, who was in charge of the first outpost at Risdon Cove in 1803, pronounced before ever seeing an Aborigine that they would not be 'of any use He thought he would be fortunate if he never saw them.' (Introduction)
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A Tasmanian Requiem
2018
sequence
prose
poetry
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 22)'A unique nine-movement oratoria for seven voices and brass quintet, performed in front of an 84 minute filmic backdrop, premiered in Hobart in April 2018.
'Here, members of the creative team explain the genesis of this extraordinary cross-cultural artistic endeavour inspired by the events of Tasmania's Black War and its aftermath...' (Introduction)
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Confronting the Dark Past of Tasmania's History
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 18 April no. 674 2018; (p. 5)'A Tasmanian Requiem - an ambitious musical production aimed at revealing the terrible legacy of the Black War and grieving the resultant loss - premiered in Hobart last week.'
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A Tasmanian Requiem Is a Musical Reckoning, and a Pathway to Reconciliation
2018
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 24 April 2018;'On December 26, 1847, a small group of Aboriginal people sat in the Lieutenant-Governor’s box at Hobart’s Theatre Royal watching a new pantomime. A local newspaper reported how “the natives … seemed gratified at their first public introduction to society in a place of amusement”. The Aboriginal spectators commanded as much, if not more, public attention than the performance itself.' (Introduction)
-
A Tasmanian Requiem
2018
sequence
prose
poetry
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 22)'A unique nine-movement oratoria for seven voices and brass quintet, performed in front of an 84 minute filmic backdrop, premiered in Hobart in April 2018.
'Here, members of the creative team explain the genesis of this extraordinary cross-cultural artistic endeavour inspired by the events of Tasmania's Black War and its aftermath...' (Introduction)
-
The Exile of History
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 23)'When British ships first arrived, seeking a new Paradise in what they called Van Diemen's Land, the island was already home to hundreds of Aboriginal families who called it lutruwita. But the British took little interest in Aboriginal culture. Lieutenant John Bowen, who was in charge of the first outpost at Risdon Cove in 1803, pronounced before ever seeing an Aborigine that they would not be 'of any use He thought he would be fortunate if he never saw them.' (Introduction)
-
Composing the Requiem
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Island , no. 153 2018; (p. 25)'Moving from idea, to concept, to libretto, to score, to production is always an extraordinary ride. A Tasmanian Requiem was something else again.' (Introduction)