Sounds like evolution

ARIA Award-winning Australian a capella ensemble Idea of North will give the world premiere of their new show Harmonic Histrionic for the Festival of Voices in Hobart on Wednesday.

Alto and musical director Naomi Crellin said she and fellow ensemble members Nick Begbie (tenor), Luke Thompson (bass), Emma Rule (soprano) and newest member Kaichiro Kitamura (baritone and vocal

percussion) were excited about the performance.

Crellin said the addition of Kitamura to the line-up had strengthened their sound.

“Jazz-based repertoire is quite complex and a quartet allows for only four notes,” she said.

“Having a fifth voice has opened so many more options..”

Crellin said the idea behind Harmonic Histrionics was to display the evolution of harmony.

“Emma and I are classically trained and used to sing beautiful Gregorian chants, madrigals and early polyphony, which are the roots of harmony today,” she said.

“We love to sing that whenever we get a chance and thought the show would be a great way to showcase how the vocal harmony we have today evolved, and where from.

“So we sing a song from every century from the 14th to 19th and then a song for every decade of the 20th century, because the evolution is so quick.”

Crellin said for her highlights included when monophony (or Gregorian chant) developed into polyphony and the explosion of possibilities it created.

Idea of North will premiere Harmonic Histrionic at the Theatre Royal in Hobart at 7pm on Wednesday. Tickets are from $45-$68, available from the Theatre Royal box office.