The Abbotsford Mysteries

If you’ve ever been to Abbotsford in Melbourne, you’ve probably made a visit to the Abbotsford Convent. It sits in a bend of the Yarra River, next to Collingwood Children’s Farm. These days, the Abbotsford Convent plays home to resident artists of practically every kind, dancers, musicians, filmmakers… and a community classical music radio station: 3MBS.The Abbotsford Convent was once one of the largest Catholic complexes in Australia, founded by The Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1863. For more than 100 years, the convent provided shelter, food and education to thousands of girls and women, placed – and sometimes forced - into the institution’s care. One of these women was the poet Patricia Sykes. She’d lived at the convent as a young girl in the early 50s, moving into the orphanage there with her three sisters, after their mum died. Her works are the basis for the song cycle featured in this podcast. In this introduction, listen as producer Sascha Kelly talks to librettist and poet Patricia Sykes and composer Andrew Aronowicz about the genesis of their work.The Abbotsford Mysteries Song-Cycle project and podcast are presented in partnership with the Abbotsford Convent Foundation, with support from Creative Victoria, The Australian Cultural Foundation, Kawaii Pianos and Spinifex Press. The music was recorded at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne, in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio.The Abbotsford Convent sits on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, by the waters of the Birrarung. We pay our respects to their Elders, and other Aboriginal Elders listening - past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.Photo credit: Tangerine Creative.

You’re listening to Episode 1 of the Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle. In this episode you’ll hear the first song in the cycle: Miasmata. This song introduces you to the Abbotsford Convent site and its Indigenous history; how the lives of the thousands of women and girls who lived at the convent were shaped and enclosed by the river that winds its way through landscape.Featured on this recording are producer Sascha Kelly, poet-librettist Patricia Sykes, and Andy Aronowicz the composer for the Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle Project. Joined by Liane Keegan, mezzo soprano, with the musicians of Plexus ensemble: violinist Monica Curro, clarinettist Phil Arkinstall, and pianist Stefan Cassomenos. The music was recorded by Greg Matheson in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne. Mixing and mastering by Chris Lawson.The Abbotsford Mysteries Song-Cycle project and podcast are presented in partnership with the Abbotsford Convent Foundation, with support from Creative Victoria, The Australian Cultural Foundation, Kawaii Pianos and Spinifex Press. The music was recorded at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne, in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio.The Abbotsford Convent sits on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, by the waters of the Birrarung. We pay our respects to their Elders, and other Aboriginal Elders listening - past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.Photo credit: Tangerine Creative.

This is the prayer of a little girl dreaming of freedom. As you’ll hear in the introduction to the music, the inspiration for the poem came from the poet Patricia Sykes’s own experience of looking up into the Abbotsford sky, at another girl skipping freely on the air.Featured on this recording are producer Sascha Kelly, poet-librettist Patricia Sykes, and Andy Aronowicz the composer for the Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle Project. Joined by Liane Keegan, mezzo soprano, with the musicians of Plexus ensemble: violinist Monica Curro, clarinettist Phil Arkinstall, and pianist Stefan Cassomenos. The music was recorded by Greg Matheson in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne. Mixing and mastering by Chris Lawson.The Abbotsford Mysteries Song-Cycle project and podcast are presented in partnership with the Abbotsford Convent Foundation, with support from Creative Victoria, The Australian Cultural Foundation, Kawaii Pianos and Spinifex Press. The music was recorded at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne, in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio.The Abbotsford Convent sits on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, by the waters of the Birrarung. We pay our respects to their Elders, and other Aboriginal Elders listening - past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.Photo credit: Tangerine Creative. 

Some of the women Patricia spoke with remember the convent nuns in an unfavourable light: with their strict rules and cruel punishments. But this is the story of a woman whose life was stitched back together again by the nuns working in the sewing rooms. Featured on this recording are producer Sascha Kelly, poet-librettist Patricia Sykes, and Andy Aronowicz the composer for the Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle Project. The recording features Liane Keegan, mezzo soprano, with the musicians of Plexus ensemble: violinist Monica Curro, clarinettist Phil Arkinstall, and pianist Stefan Cassomenos. The music was recorded by Greg Matheson in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne. Mixing and mastering by Chris Lawson.The Abbotsford Mysteries Song-Cycle project and podcast are presented in partnership with the Abbotsford Convent Foundation, with support from Creative Victoria, The Australian Cultural Foundation, Kawaii Pianos and Spinifex Press. The music was recorded at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne, in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio.The Abbotsford Convent sits on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, by the waters of the Birrarung. We pay our respects to their Elders, and other Aboriginal Elders listening - past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.Photo credit: Tangerine Creative. 

This is the final episode of the Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle podcast. Thanks so much for listening. This episode features the last song: titled Gloria.Featured on this recording are producer Sascha Kelly, poet-librettist Patricia Sykes, and Andy Aronowicz the composer for the Abbotsford Mysteries Song Cycle Project. Joined by Liane Keegan, mezzo soprano, and pianist Stefan Cassomenos. The music was recorded by Greg Matheson in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne. Mixing and mastering by Chris Lawson.The Abbotsford Mysteries Song-Cycle project and podcast are presented in partnership with the Abbotsford Convent Foundation, with support from Creative Victoria, The Australian Cultural Foundation, Kawaii Pianos and Spinifex Press. The music was recorded at 3MBS: Fine Music Melbourne, in the Lady Marigold Southey Performance Studio.The Abbotsford Convent sits on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, by the waters of the Birrarung. We pay our respects to their Elders, and other Aboriginal Elders listening - past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded.Photo credit: Tangerine Creative.