Release date: 9 October 2026
Double Labyrinth after Richard Dunn comprises two versions of the eponymous work-in-progress by Bryn Harrison, which continues to develop through a process of dialogue, exchange, and group exploration with the members of ELISION, Australia’s premier contemporary music ensemble. The piece was written in memory of senior Australian visual artist Richard Dunn (1944-2024), a profound thinker and intellect. It takes Dunn’s Double Labyrinth paintings made in 2005 as its starting point. Like the paintings, the music invites its audience to explore a series of dense pathways. Loops and entanglements catch the ear as the virtuosic performers navigate these pathways, their moment-to-moment interactions, constantly in flux, producing textures that are at once simple and complex. Chromatic lines performed at a speed and density that make them difficult to apprehend overlap one another unpredictably, giving way to flutters and trills that are fleeting and ephemeral. Over time, the repetition intensifies; eddies and whirlpools of sound emerge from the work’s bristling surface. A metallic sound-world transitions to a woodier sonority before eventually giving way to a calm final section comprising drone-like material.
In the same way that Dunn's Double Labyrinth paintings call into question the relationship between two mazes positioned side-by-side, this disc encourages comparison between two versions of Harrison's work. Scored for ensembles of five and seven players respectively, each one draws on a unique palette of sounds that includes an assortment of recorders, a harp, nyckelharpa (a Scandinavian keyed fiddle), bass flute, and a range of percussion including an Indonesian bamboo angklung. Both versions follow the same compositional structure but offer distinctive sonic landscapes: one dark and subdued, the other bright and volatile. Listen again and you will encounter new moments of interaction, imbued with sonic riches and discoveries.
Double Labyrinth after Richard Dunn was commissioned by Richard Dunn and Suzanne Davies for ELISION through the Australian Cultural Foundation. It is an homage to both Richard Dunn and the ELISION ensemble. With its extended repetitions that draw the listener in over time, the work demonstrates many characteristics of Bryn Harrison’s established compositional approach. However, it also represents a new direction for Harrison, offering the expansive compositional possibilities that come from consciously making space for performer agency.
Bryn Harrison
ELISION
RECORDING CREDITS
ELISION artistic director / project producer: Daryl Buckley
Double Labyrinth after Richard Dunn was commissioned by Suzanne Davies in honour and memory of Richard Dunn, a senior Australian visual artist.
Tracks 1& 2 recorded by Alistair McLean at the Primrose Potter Salon of the Melbourne Recital Centre on 15 December 2024 and 18 July 2025.
Produced by Daryl Buckley
Mastered by Alistair McLean
Catalogue no: HCR40
