Uncovered Ground (Move 2021)
by Felicity Wilcox
Performances by Ironwood, Ensemble Offspring, Sydney Art Quartet and various artists.
Threading the Light (Move 2022)
Cover art by Lucy Scott
Move Records has released Felicity Wilcox’s Threading the Light - a 50-minute, gem-like chamber opera for live electronics, string orchestra, singers and percussion, featuring some extraordinary soloists from the cream of new music practice in Australia.
Threading the Light refers to the universal phenomenon of ritual, a constant in human culture designed to transcend worldly concerns. The titles of its four movements -Light, Water, Blood and Fire - refer to elements commonly associated with ritual practices. There are also Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Vedic source prayers in the libretto. On a very personal note, the work is dedicated to the composer's brother, Reverend Dr Gavin Wilcox (1962-2008), whose prayers, “Walk in His Ways” and “Breath of Wind” are included in tracks II. Water and IV. Fire.
Wilcox created an electronic instrument for Threading the Light sourced from Himalayan singing bowl tones, digitised, processed, and re-tuned in Just Intonation. Blended seamlessly with the voices of Jenny Duck-Chong, Alison Morgan, and Mark Donnelly, and contrasted with string and percussion ensemble conducted by Sada Muramatsu and featuring soloists Anna McMichael, Luke Spicer and Anthea Cottee, the result is an ethereal, atmospheric masterpiece.
what the critics said:
‘Threading the Light is a tour de force of composition and performance, combining extraordinary sonorities with a passionate expression of spirituality. highly recommended.’
Michael Hannan (Loudmouth, The Music Trust)
★★★ ‘music that moves between hypnotising incantatory intensity, often mesmerising moments of beauty, and episodes of compelling drama.’
Micheal Quinn (Limelight)
★★★★★ ‘a fascinating immersive experience.’
Paul Cooke (2MBS Fine Music Sydney)
Uncovered Ground (move 2021)
Uncovered Ground is Felicity’s first release of her selected chamber works and is available for download and streaming from the iTunes Music Store, Spotify and Apple Music. For those who still enjoy holding a CD in their hands and listening to that high bandwidth recording, you can also use the contact form on this website to order a physical CD or order one through Move Records.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Govt. through the Australia Council, its art funding and advisory body.
artwork by kitty@troyhorse
Album trailer
what the critics said:
Uncovered Ground was ‘Pick of Week’ in the Sydney Morning Herald, 31 July 2021.
★★★★★ ‘Felicity Wilcox’s blend of Baroque sensibilities and dissonant textures adds up to a historically-informed modernity…her creative vision reigns supreme.’
Jessie Cuniffe (Sydney Morning Herald)
★★★★★ ‘The music is startling in its originality and use of instrumental techniques and electronic treatments.’
Paul Cooke (2MBS Fine Music Sydney)
‘Wilcox’s writing is inventive and creates new frontiers in sound with her techniques and combinations of instruments… as she presses the ‘play’ button on the music of the future, she doesn’t hit the ‘delete’ button on music of the past.’
Shamistha de Soysa (Sounds Like Sydney)
‘Wilcox is in full flight of inventiveness, with innovations in the use of conventional instruments and multiple electronic techniques.’
Margaret Steinberger (ClassikON)
‘Wilcox’s is an important voice in contemporary classical music as this collection attests. She covers a variety of musical styles, moods and ideas, but her work is always accessible, engaging and, perhaps not surprisingly given her cinematic background, visually evocative.’
Steve Moffatt (The Daily Telegraph)
‘Prepare to be both charmed and challenged by an alluring mix of the 18th and 21st centuries, where baroque ornamentations within contemporary sounds will delight the ear and bring a smile to the lips.’
Gwen Bennett (Loudmouth, The Music Trust)
About Gouttes d’un Sang Etranger : interviews and footage shot during the recording sessions
About Vivre Sa Vie Composer’s Cut
Live- stream of Uncovered Ground, July 23, 2020 at Trackdown Studios.
MOMENT (2018)
Moment is Felicity’s CD of solo piano improvisations, out on Bandcamp, and available for streaming, digital download or as a hard copy LP. Label psychopyjama had this to say about it:
“Moment… draws on many strands of experience, musical and emotional. It is not ambient music, or jazz (quite) . . . it is not classical music . . . it is a soundtrack for a film playing behind your eyelids where the weather changes gradually. Moment is a world of comfort and challenge. It draws from Wilcox’s decades of experience as a soundtrack composer (some 60 feature films, shorts and series). It can drift like a delicious afternoon with the sun dappling the water . . . big emotional melodies might tug at your heart strings . . . sounds from the interior of the piano can beguile and intrigue.”
Artwork by Rizard Dibeck. Photo by Felicity Wilcox
The Curling VIne (2015)
The Curling Vine is a moody collection of ballads featuring a band made up of some of the greats of the Australian music scene. It is an intimate journey of the soul from a seasoned writer/performer working across fields. Recorded at Sound Heaven Studios in Wentworth Falls, the record was launched at the Clarendon in Katoomba and Camelot Lounge in Sydney, to full houses and critical acclaim, with airplay on FBi Sydney, and ABC Radio National.
Artwork by kitty@troyhorse
“There is an openness of spirit at the heart of the Curling Vine...comfortably emotional...hints of Nina Simone...”
Bernard Zuel, Sydney Morning Herald.
‘The aural equivalent of looking through frosted glass, with her singing diaphanous…wilcox's marriage of words and music was utterly seamless.’
John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald
The president vs. david hicks (2004)
Wilcox’s soundtrack to this AACTA-winning film was recorded in collaboration with Afghani musicians, Sultan Miazoi (Rubab), Jawid Nassery (Vocals and Harmonium), Dauid Rahimi (Tabla), with renowned Australian actor Brendan Cowell providing the voice of David Hicks. The feature documentary, directed by Curtis Levy and Bentley Dean, traces the controversial involvement of Islamic Australian guerilla fighter David Hicks in the aftermath of the events of 9/11, and his father Terry’s moving quest to free his son from detention in the US prison hellhole of Guantanemo Bay.
afrika capetown to cairo (1998)
Wilcox's electrifying ARIA-nominated soundtrack to the ABC series produced by Marcus Gillezeau and Ellenor Cox (Firelight Productions) and directed by Michael Davie in guerilla-doc style. Released by BMG, this genre-hopping dive into African culture in the 90s features Sydney-based members of the African diaspora, Rinka Soyiet, Toni Mott, T. Lashae, Ali Omar and the legendary bassist Jackie Orszaczky, among others.