| Subject: AU: From dark to daggy, with
everything in between
[excerpt] The Australian THE ARTS From dark to daggy, with everything in between Lee Christofis April 05, 2005 The audience erupted into noisy accolades after the premiere of Martin Wesley-Smith's A luta continua (The Struggle Continues) and a performance of Peter Sculthorpe's Requiem (2004). Peter Wesley-Smith, Martin's brother, wrote the libretto of A luta continua, a lament for the many thousands who died in East Timor's struggle for independence, based on future president Xanana Gusmao's defence in the Indonesian courts after his capture in 1992. Sung soberly by bass Andrew Collis and the Ogilvie High School Concert Choir of girls, it incorporated charming Timorese folk songs and dances. Despite its seriousness, it's a lively work that seems to want to go in many directions, as if nothing of its sorrows and dazzling blocks of syncopated sound could settle for long. It was, perhaps, too earnest at this premiere, but the audience welcomed its intentions and emotional scope. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au
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