Our first concert of the day was at the Old Government Building on the QUT campus. We had toured this building before and now we returned for the concert. Prior to the concert we were sitting on a bench enjoying the breeze and a woman came up to us asking if we knew where the Old Government Building was. She was parked in a 2 minute parking spot and she wanted to deliver sheet music to one of the musicians. We told her how to get there but she did not think she could make it there and back in time so she gave us the package of music and asked us to deliver it to Wayne the violinist. An odd request but we were willing to take it on. She must have asked the cello player to follow up on us. He walked up a few minutes later and asked us about the music and we told him that we had sent it inside already. The concert itself was very intimate, the space was a single room and the audience was limited to approximately 50 people. There were four vocalists, a piano and harpsichord player, two violinists and the aforementioned cellist. They played for 90 minutes and the music ranged from the mid 1600's to the late 1800's. They sang in German, Italian, French and English. It was great fun and my favorite was Nouvelle Agreable! from France. There was an encore which we stayed for even though we were a bit concerned about the timing between concerts. Yet we were still early to our dinner reservation at River Quay Fish just across the Goodwill Pedestrian Bridge. It was situated on the South Bank right on the pedestrian path along the river. There were lots of folks picnicking, drinking, exercising and enjoying the day. Several folks had baskets of food that they were able to order from the three restaurants along this stretch. We saw more dogs along this section of walkway than we had the entire time in Brisbane so far. The sun went down and Leslie had to put her sequined jacket as the breeze off the river had a chill to it. The breeze also chased off several groups from the picnic lawn. After dinner we continued walking to the Performing Arts center where we saw many festive lights and displays. We were here to see the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. They sang songs ranging from a 4th century hymn from early Greek Christians, Phos Hilaron, to more modern music, Waltzing Matilda. The first half of the show featured German sacred poetry set to music. But in this case the words were not German but were in the Arrernte and Pitjanjatjara languages. These songs were translated 150 years ago and have been instrumental in preserving these languages during the colonial period when the people were forbidden to use their language. They were allowed to continue to sing these songs and that helped to bring the language forward through the subsequent generations. We learned all this from the conductor who spoke to the crowd in between songs. The second half featured some German songs but also African and Australian songs. We all got to sing along to Kumbaya both in English and in Arrernte. then there were campfire songs known to all the Aussies in the room. The encore songs were a combination of traditional song-stories and new compositions. During the concert the conductor would sing the first three notes before the song started. The song would start with a smaller core group and then by the second chorus the whole choir would join in and it was sublime. When the entire choir sang the harmonies we got goose-bumps. The acoustics of the hall helped out but the skill level of these singers was incredible. The conductor did explain how two first nations men and three white fellows had been invited to join the "Women's Choir". The men were related to many of the singers, being sons, brothers and nephews to the other members. The white fellows included the conductors wife and two men that were either choir directors or men that had been associated with the choir for decades. What a great great time!
Wayne's music
A fine looking building for its age
It is located adjacent to the old botanical gardens in Queens Park
Where is your music Wayne?
The dedication from 1909. I like how it says the first "Responsible" Government of Queensland
Beautiful windows, not stained glass but possibly painted?
The different patterns show up depending if the window is in shadow or is illuminated from the back
Inside the Old Government Building
The crew basking in the adulation of the crowd
Woof!
Family time
The row of restaurants
The walk way and the river
Lots of folks in full picnic mode
You can see the basket much better in this picture
Christmas in Brisbane walkway of lights
Victoria Bridge is all lit up as well as the Brisbane sign
Almost to the Performing Arts Center
We are here and it is a very spacious space
Some great art on the walls
A more modern take on the traditional art
I see a bird bottom left and a possible grasshopper front and center. The artist might be insulted by my interpretation.
A mighty hall
Great acoustics
The first half outfits
There was an intermission. The used these signs to bring us back in
Our program that listed all the songs and most of the encores
The second half outfits during the sing along
A sublime choir and an educational experience for us to boot
