Taken

Join Topology, Southern Cross Soloists and actors Lafe Charlton and Roxanne McDonald as they unite to perform Taken; then journey into the heart of Spinifex country with West Australian composer and cellist Iain Grandage.

We’ve had the national apology, and now the real work begins. Reconciliation includes remembering our past. And remembering means listening. In this beautiful collaboration, Topology listens to the voices of Indigenous Australia as they perform Taken, by composers Robert Davidson and Paul Dean, to accompany stories from the Bringing Them Home report and interviews with Aunty Ruth Hegarty. Aunty Ruth tells stories of separation from her mother at the Cherbourg Mission, as told in her award-winning book, Is that you Ruthie?.

In a heartfelt account of his collaboration with Spinifex Elders (as shown in the documentary film Ooldea), cellist Iain Grandage will then perform Inma Kutju (First Song). Played against a recorded chorus of the finest male voices of the Great Victorian Desert, Inma Kutju (First Song) features a soaring cello line reminiscent of Tavener’s Protecting Veil. Iain will also premiere a new work for Topology that further explores his travels through Spinifex land and culture.  

“People will listen to Taken as a milestone, appreciating its art, and its politics. It leaves its dazed audience gasping for breath.” - The Australian

Please Note: This event was formally named Inma Jtuta (Many Songs).

Photo by Sidat de Silva