From new life to grief, Ella Macens’s music for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is rooted in love
There are countless examples across different times and genres of musicians using music to express love.
There is even a period of music called the Romantic period.
In the 19th century, composers wrote their emotions into the notes and the sounds they made.
“Music is like a road map to our emotions,” says ABC Classic presenter Mairi Nicolson.
“[Music can] It bypasses the tongue and goes directly to our solar plexus.“
Particularly in the orchestral world, composers recognized music’s ability to express complex, nuanced emotions without saying a word.
Australian composer Ella Macens drew on this tradition in her newest composition, My Heart On Yours.
Commissioned by ABC Classic in conjunction with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as a love letter for the channel’s 50th birthday, the music evolved during its composition to explore different facets of love.
The music began with Macens’ thoughts on the beauty and heartache of love separated by distance.
But music is not limited to the bright, enthusiastic feeling of romantic love, although it started that way.
After Macens experienced the Bondi terrorist attack firsthand in December, music has grown to encompass the power of love to heal us from hate and harm.
Expressing emotions without words
Falling in love (or coming out of love) has inspired musicians and music lovers to dance the night away, sing their hearts out, or simply cry after a heartbreak.
But reaching these feelings without words requires different skills.
Classical composers have been expressing “the full spectrum of human emotions” on paper for centuries, Nicolson says.
For example, there are many composers who turn to the piano in the name of love.
Frederick Chopin dedicated several piano pieces to Maria Wodzińska, whom he almost married.
Edward Elgar wrote Salut D’amour, a delicate duet for piano and violin, as an engagement gift to his future wife, Caroline Alice Roberts.
Edvard Grieg composed one of his most popular piano pieces, Wedding Day in Troldhaugen, as a 25th anniversary gift to his wife Nina.
Macens, on the other hand, drew from “a lot of nostalgia, memories, longing, joy and sorrow” when composing My Heart On Yours.
“I created a connection that opened my heart to love in a way I hadn’t experienced in a long time,” says Macens.
“I am reminded of how much we learn about ourselves in the loving presence of another. How beautiful could it be?“
After a four-month trip to Latvia, where he connected with family, people and places, he began writing the music and returned with an aching heart.
“I sat at the piano, did my singer-songwriter thing, played one note over and over again,” Macens says.
Writing for a symphony orchestra requires knowing how to weave the sounds of dozens of instruments.
During this process, Macens says, “I allow myself to recall memories intertwined with the melody and harmony of this piece.”
The result is a rich array of tone colors of different instruments, with the original repeated score based on the first part of the music.
The impact of life-changing events
Two major life events occurred while Macens was writing My Heart On Yours, which influenced the music.
Macens’ music was also performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. (Sydney Symphony Orchestra: Craig Abercrombie)
First, Macens’ best friend gave birth to her first child.
“It brought my whole friendship group together around it,” Macens says.
“[It highlights] A brotherhood of bond and love, strong, rich, brave and warm.”
The image of a newborn baby at the mother’s breast added a new layer to My Heart is Yours.
“This purity, this instinct to protect the fragile, became another theme in the music,” says Macens.
However, immediately after this experience, the composition took a different turn.
Five days before the score was due to be completed, Macens was caught up in the Bondi terror attack while visiting the beach on Sunday afternoon.
Although Macens did not witness the events directly, “my experience was to run and hide. [while being] “It’s still very close to everything that’s going on,” he shares.
“As I processed this experience later, I couldn’t ignore the stories of people literally throwing themselves at children to protect them,” she shares.
“Hearts upon hearts were human shields to keep each other alive.“
For Macens, this experience was “begging to be acknowledged” in music, but at first he struggled to understand how it fit into a piece based on love, connection, and friendship.
Ultimately, Macens realized that his grief was “love in the form of compassion and empathy for all those affected.”
“I alternated between moments of rest and processing, and found solace in writing this music,” Macens recalls of the following days.
As he processed his experience, the music Macens wrote became “a loud, foreboding, intense passage.”
Among his instructions to the players was “sad, cruel.”
Benjamin Northey will conduct the MSO’s premiere of My Heart On Yours. (MSO: Mark Gambino)
Macens says that even listening to his own composition was difficult at first.
“Every time I heard that, I couldn’t control my body’s reaction,” she says.
“[But] “We can’t leave him in the middle of this horror.”
Macens’ mother reminded him: “In times of despair, we must anchor ourselves in love.”
The composer states that finishing music supports the healing process.
The harrowing, grim passage has become one of his favorite moments in music.
“I’m looking now [this musical passage] “With a sense of reclamation and personal power,” says Macens.
In a world where choosing sides has become so normalized, there is something poignant about the non-verbal language of music.
Composers like Macens hope their music will resonate with listeners.
“[But] Macens says each person will perceive music differently.
“This is where music has the capacity to sweep, transport, nourish and rebuild people, hearts and places.“
My Heart On Yours will be premiered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at a free outdoor concert at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on February 14. Listen to the concert live on ABC Classic At 19:30.
