Carolling chorale caresses a land of dewdrops and spiderwebs—The Canberra Times

By Sarah Parkes

Christmas in Australia brings cackling kookaburras, cool drinks and hot sticky days, but we still sing about dashing through the snow and Frosty the Snowman.

Now it's time for Australia to come into its own and celebrate its own traditions, according to the Oriana Chorale.

A crowd full of children gathered at the National Museum yesterday to hear the chorale unveil four carols adapted from Australian poems by Australian composers. The result was catchy melodic tunes that represent the warm weather, native wildlife and national traditions.

Two of Michael Leunig's poems feature in the carols - What Did You Get on Christmas Morn? and Christmas – to settings by Melbourne composer with organist Calvin Bowman.

Sydney composer Matthew Orlovich adapted a James McAuley poem for the carolNativity.

" McAuley's Nativity is a world of dewdrops and spiderwebs, tender snails' horns and a bare attentiveness of the heart, a world where everyday things become breathtaking and extraordinary," he said.

Orlovich's second carol opens with the familiar laughter of kookaburras. Adapted from a Pat Edward poem, it is called If Christ Had Been Born in Another Time.

Oriana music director Tobias Cole said he wanted to see the songs become a part of Australia's Christmas identity. "We need to think about what is the Australian style and what captures the expanse of Australia.

"In Matthew's work there's a kind of continuum, it's very evocative, it creates an atmosphere, a spell, a kind of timelessness just by a repetition of certain things and subtle changes – maybe as the cloud is moving towards the sun or there is a change in the colour of the sunset."

Mr Cole believes the melodies will get stuck in people's heads. "Audiences will find these pieces refreshingly accessible in harmony, rhythm and meaning. They just call out for participation.

"It's just a gradual process and it is Australia growing up and just trusting our own."

The songs will be recorded and played on ABC radio around the country.