MacfarlanehaswrittennewtextforMountain.“Alot
ofitwasdrawnfromtheideasinhisbook.Sometimes
I would say, ‘I love this particular passage in the book.
Canyouexpressthatinamorecondensedway?’andwe
wouldeditpicturesaroundthat.Othertimeswewould
stumbleuponanideafromacinematographer’spointof
viewwherewefeltitexpressedsomethingwewantedto
say and he would look at those images and write some
textinresponse.Soitkindofflowedbothways,likeit
hasdonewithRichardandthemusic,”saysPeedom.
Mountainwillexistintwoforms.There’sthe
concertexperienceinwhichtheACOplaysliveto
a film directed by Peedom, which will premiere at the
Sydney Opera House in June as part of the Vivid Live
FestivalandthentournationallyinAugust.There’s
also a stand-alone film for cinema release, with a
soundtrackfeaturingtheACO,whichwillhaveitsfirst
screening at the Sydney Film Festival in June.
Tognettisaysthattheconcertperformancewill
be “a totally different beast” to the cinema version.
“In the cinema, we are not an orchestra on stage
forastart,sothemusicplaysadifferentrole.You
seetheorchestraandthereforeyouhearmore
withyoureyeswhat’sgoingononstage,whichis
areallyimportantconsideration.Andthat’swhy
we have Nigel Jamieson involved.”
Jamiesonisaleadingtheatreandeventdirector,
whohasspecialisedinceremoniesandlarge-scale
events.Herecentlydirectedtheopeningofthe2017
EuropeanCapitalofCulture,Aarhus,Denmark.His
othercreditsincludedirectingtheTin Symphony
segmentoftheOpeningCeremonyfortheSydney
Olympics, andGallipolifor Sydney Theatre Company.
“HehelpedusenormouslywithThe Reef.We
recently polished it, and we have just performed in
London.Finally,wearefeelingreallyconfidentabout
it, and it’s mainly because of the stage craft that
NigelJamiesonbroughttobear.Sothat’ssomething
I’velearnedalotabout.Justputtingafilmbehind
an orchestra there is a disconnect, so we need to
inhabitthatfilmicspace,ifyoulike.Nigelwas
insistentonthat.Wearepartofthefilm,so therein
lies a big, big difference,” says Tognetti.Forherpart,Peedomsaysthatasthefilmdirector
shewasdeterminedtotryashardasshecouldto
createonesingleversionfromapicturepointofview.
“Thereistheoddmomentwherewemayneedto
shift the narration [for the cinema] because there
are certain bits of music that Richard doesn’t want
tobecompetingwiththevoice,”shesays.
“Theonebigthingthatwillbedifferentwiththe
live version – what I callMountain Live–isthatthere
aremomentswheretherewillbebreaks[inthefilm].
Therearetwoorpossiblythreemomentswhereif
we were to play the full piece of music – like the
BeethovenViolinConcerto–itwouldbetoolongfor
thatsceneinthefilm.Butfortheconcertaudience,he
wantstoplayitinitsentirety,”explainsPeedom.
“So,Richardhadtheidea,andIthinkit’sa
beautifulidea,thattherearemomentsinMountain
Livewhere the screen will go black and the lights will
comeuponRichardandtheorchestraandhewill
finish that piece of music. It’s entirely appropriate
andIthinkit’senabledhimtoexpressemotionally
whatheisfeelingatthatpointinthefilm.So,thelive
experience will have some bonus material, essentially.
ThereisnodoubtinmymindthatMountain Live is
goingtobeanextraordinaryexperience.”Mountainpremieres at the Sydney Opera House on
June 12 then plays in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra,
Newcastle, Perth and Sydney from August 3 – 20CLASSICAL MUSIC DOES DIFFERENT THINGS
TO N O RMAL CINEMATIC MUSIC. O F TEN IT ’ S
MUCH LONGER, AND DOESN’T ESCALATE
Satu Vänskä34 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au
OMOUNTAIN
Ama Dablam, Nepal © Renan Ozturk / Dave Mossop