C5 Red Dirt Hymns (expired event)

A hymnal to the country under our feet.

In a CIMF exclusive, the world premiere of Andrew Ford’s Red Dirt Hymns resounds in the great cathedral of Australian stories: the National Museum of Australia. A living songbook more than four years in the making, Andrew Ford’s hymnal brings together the words of sixteen contemporary Australian writers – poets, essayists and folksingers – in songs of praise, awe, grief, hope, joy, and natural splendour, dedicated not to a god, but to the land.

The ever-daring voices of Luminescence Chamber Singers join forces with two rising stars: Hilary Geddes, 2021 Freedman Jazz Fellow and lead guitarist of Triple J favourites The Buoys, and category-defying cellist Freya Schack-Arnott. Red Dirt Hymns unfolds to the evocative imagery of Sammy Hawker, whose art is created within the fabric of country itself: saltwater, limestone and eucalypt.

From Ellen van Neerven’s dark clouds to John Kinsella’s abundant gardens, Red Dirt Hymns does what a hymnal is meant to do: it draws us closer – to each other, and to the light and shade of our wide brown land.

“Everyone’s red dirt under the clouds.” – Philip Harvey

Audience members are invited to discover the story of the vast, vibrant Australian continent in the Great Southern Land gallery at the National Museum of Australia between 6.30 pm and the start of the performance which begins at 8 pm. Great Southern Land tells stories of power, connection, life and change. It shows how the Australian continent has transformed into one of the most diverse and resilient places on Earth – and how these changes can guide us in the future.