Cirrus@Austlit

'Paul Kelly pays tribute to the immortal works of W.B. Yeats, Judith Wright, Kenneth Slessor and Les Murray with a haunting song cycle of remembrance and longing. Veteran Australian singer / songwriter Paul Kelly joins forces with ten young performers from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) to present the world premiere of an original song cycle, based on the poetry of W.B. Yeats, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Judith Wright, Kenneth Slessor and Les Murray, as well as several new lyrics of his own.

Created by Kelly in collaboration with ANAM's 2011 resident composer, James Ledger, Conversations with Ghosts is a bittersweet reflection on the nature of mortality and an uplifting memorial to those who have been lost. From Slessor's incantatory 'Five Bells' and Yeats's 'Sailing to Byzantium' to Murray's 'Once in a Lifetime Snow', Conversations With Ghosts pays homage to some of the English language's greatest wordsmiths, offering a unique and unforgettable evening of music and lyricism.' Source: www.melbournerecital.com.au/ (Sighted 13/08/2012).