EVENTS
SOLANDER
A CHORAL CELEBRATION
S
everal islands and a variety of plants – not to mention the oldest botanical research library in Australia – are all named in honour of Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander. Now the pioneering scientist who circled the globe on the Endeavour, is to be the subject of a unique musical performance. Anyone familiar with Solander’s life will know it was not short on drama. After a childhood in Sweden’s north, he studied in the 1750s under celebrated botanist Carl Linnaeus before travelling to London and securing a job cataloguing the British Museum’s natural history collections. In 1768, he then embarked, along with Joseph Banks, on Captain James Cook's legendary voyage to the Pacific. Solander contributed to Banks' Florilegium, and himself wrote a manuscript describing species collected from New Zealand during the expedition. In addition, along the way he invented the Solander box, which is still used in libraries and archives for storing prints, drawings and herbarium materials. Solander went on to accompany Banks on an intrepid voyage to Iceland, the Hebrides and the Orkney Islands, then returned to the British Museum. In 1782, at just 49 years of age, he died suddenly from a stroke at Banks' London home. Sydney-based Kate Reid is the first to admit she knew almost none of this before deciding to compose her song cycle, Solander, which will be performed by the Sydney Chamber Choir in February. In fact, she may never have encountered the naturalist if it wasn’t for one of her three sons, Toby, meeting a Swede and starting a family in Umea, a small town in the Scandinavian country’s north. With a view to spending some quality time with her two grandchildren, in 2017 Reid, who studied composition at the Sydney Conservatorium, applied for – and secured – a month-long residency
at an international composers' school on an island just off the coast of Stockholm. “I had to write something, so I began looking for a theme that connected Australia and Sweden, and someone mentioned Solander,” says Reid. “It turned out he was born about 175km from Umea, in the village of Piteå. I knew that part of the world, the extremes of its environment, and how starkly it contrasts with Australia. And the more I learned about Solander the more I liked and admired him as one those incredible scientists who embarked on these remarkable journeys of discovery. On a personal level, I guess I also related him to my son, and his decision to establish a life so far from home.” Reid’s song cycle incorporates seven movements and features a combination of voices, as well as just one instrument, a vibraphone, to add colour and texture. She and theatre director Rodney Fisher wrote the lyrics and narrative, which will be spoken by celebrated Australian actor and director John Gaden. The project hasn’t been without its own drama. It was originally to be performed in November 2020, but COVID-19 caused multiple delays. “In some ways it’s done me a favour,” she says. “I've had the opportunity to do a lot of rewriting and adapting in the extra time, and as a result I think it’s an even better piece.” David Carroll
‘If I was to tell his whole life story it would have been an opera’
WIN TICKETS
SOLANDER 12 FEBRUARY 2022 7.30PM–8.45PM The Governors Centre, Cleveland Street, Moore Park Tickets: $75 Book at trybooking.com/BOWRG
Foundation & Friends has two tickets to give away to Solander. To enter the draw, just email foundation.friends@ botanicgardens.nsw.gov.au before 10 December 2021. Please type ‘Solander giveaway tickets’ in the subject line, and be sure to include your name and mobile number.
THE GARDENS SUMMER 2021–2022
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