‘North and South’: Jane Sheldon’s CD in concert with the Acacia Quartet

Soprano Jane Sheldon & Acacia Quartet are to give the first Sydney performances from their North + South CD, alongside music by Elena Kats-Chernin and Lyle Chan.

Now based in the US, the Australian soprano has forged a strong international career. Her latest recording, North + South,  is a contemporary take on ten traditional folk songs, drawing on ‘traditional’ styles. For the Sydney concert, Jane and the Acacia Quartet recreate their performance on the recording which was made and launched at Arthur Boyd’s residence, Bundanon, in 2012.

The songs on North + South derive from Australia, the United States, and the British Isles. It features arrangements by Britten, Berio, and Australian composers Andrew Ford, Martin Wesley-Smith, and Ann Carr-Boyd. Jane has also arranged some of the songs herself, including The Go-Between’s 1983 hit Cattle and Cane, which was declared by APRA one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time. The collection includes favourites like The Dying Stockman and She Moved Through the Fair, amongst some lesser-known gems.

Jane is taking the opportunity of this visit to Sydney to give her first public performances of the music from her CD. He voice has been described by The Sydney Morning Herald as “Superb, with a voice of penetrating beauty,  precision &  variegated colours.”                                        

Jane and the Acacia Quartet are both renowned for their recordings of Elena Kats-Chernin’s music. Listeners of ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live will be familiar with Jane’s ARIA-nominated performance of  Kats-Chernin’s Eliza Aria, the show’s theme music.

The Acacia Quartet is also highly-regarded for its interpretation of the music of Lyle Chan. Described by the The Sydney Morning herald as “a young group….on the ascendancy”, they’ll perform Night Vigil and Don’t Leave Me This Way from Lyle’s AIDS Memoir Quartet, a work they’ll be recording later in 2013.

Tickets: at the door; adults $25 (cash only), children are free.

Click here to read SoundsLikeSydney’s review of Jane Sheldon’s CD North + South