Hospital Hill has just released Seven Stations, the CD of the song cycle written by Andrew Batt-Rawden (magnificent music) and Chris Mansell (poems). You can get it as a download or as a hold-in-your-hand CD which also includes a booklet with the text of the poems.

The premiere of the song cycle was in Sydney last year, then it was expertly recorded at Trackdown by the geniuses of Hospital Hill, Matt McGuigan and Jake Craig (you had to see them in action to know just how good they really are). Alison Morgan and Anna Fraser (Halycon) were the sopranos, Josh Hill was on percussion, Joe Manton bass, Stefan Duwe viola, and Ezmi Pepper on cello. It was a pleasure to work with such a gifted group of people. A seriously talented bunch.

The work came about when Charles Davidson, friend, music patron all round good bloke, introduced Andrew and me to each other over lunch. It was the beginning of a series rewarding collaborations of which Seven Stations is the first. Andrew and I decided that we’d write a work which celebrated Sydney and chose as our stepping off points seven inner city stations which epitomise certain aspects of the city – from the Town Hall with the intersection of commerce and the official centre of power, to the complexities of Redfern, and the outrageousness of the Cross.

Have a look at the Hospital Hill site, and if you’d pass this note on to interested folk, that would be great.
Here’s the Hospital Hill site:
http://store.hospitalhill.com.au/products/seven-stations
Andrew Batt-Rawden’s site:
http://www.andrewbattrawden.com.au/cover.html
Chris Mansell
http://www.chrismansell.com