Back under southern skies – Schaupp and Noonan
When Karin Schaupp and Katie Noonan’s album Songs of the Southern Skies proved so popular they decided to follow it up with a second volume.
Soprano Katie Noonan and guitarist Karin Schaupp have been friends for 20 years. A friendship between musicians doesn’t necessarily guarantee a deep musical connection but there’s an almost magical rapport between these women at the peak of their artistic powers.
An intuitive give and take, a shared motivation to produce gorgeous tone and the duo’s tight ensemble shines brightly in the second volume of Songs of the Southern Skies, recently released. The album imaginatively reframes popular hits by Aussie female icons including Aunty Ruby Hunter, Kylie Minogue, Kate Ceberano, Missy Higgins, Sia and Sarah Blasko.
Noonan and Schaupp’s creative partnership was forged during the production and release of Songs of the British Isles in 2006 and the award-winning Songs of the Southern Skies, which the duo toured in 2013.
Noonan’s career soared after she graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, when she and her brother Tyrone formed the ground-breaking pop group George. Polyserena, their first album, revealed the band’s innovative, appealing sound and it gained platinum status within weeks.
Noonan is polystylistic, fiercely committed to genre-hopping. She has performed Four Centuries of English Song from Purcell to Radiohead with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the song cycle Before Time Could Change Us, which she co-wrote and performed with notable jazz pianist and composer Paul Grabowsky. These diverse collaborations and others wowed the music industry.
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Schaupp, is a guitar virtuoso, recitalist and concerto soloist of international and national standing. When these colossal talents combine in creating an artistic project the result is most likely going o be an irresistible tour-de-force.
Songs of the Southern Skies, Vol. 2 doesn’t disappoint. Each performer anticipates how the other will shape a phrase, grow the sound, broaden the tempo or craft a stunning tone. The unity they have achieved must have been as deeply rewarding for them during the recording process as it is exhilarating for others to listen to.
Noonan provides lead and backing vocals and judicious percussion while Schaupp plays classical and steel string guitars. The classy arrangements cleverly showcase the guitarist’s crystal-cut mastery and Noonan’s moving, rich, airy and remarkably colourful voice.
Occasional yet enriching support from songstresses Clare Bowditch and Kate Ceberano with Louise King on cello, Sarah King on violin, Phil Stack on double bass, Justin Tresidder’s astute mixing and King Willy Sound’s polished mastering ensure the album’s cohesion in this successful, inspired production.
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In general, the tracks It’s Only the Beginning, Down City Streets and the blues-brushed instrumental If Penguins Could Talk are more than respectable, but the following are the standouts:
In Cooling of the Embers, originally by Missy Higgins, the duo perform an imaginatively refreshed arrangement of understated emotion.
Confide in Me, originally sung by Kylie Minogue, is blessed by a beautifully shaped guitar intro followed by a deluxe call and response featuring a violin’s catchy riff alternating with vigorous trums on guitar. Minogue’s hit is a fitting vehicle for Noonan’s distinctive vocals.
Brave reveals fresh, rewarding colours with a grittier, expressive vocal edge and colourful harmonisation in the chorus I Will Never Walk Away. Schauup’s stylishly syncopated stretches are insightful and add meaning.
Gratitude is a marvel, the mood languid. There’s a seductive ebb and flow with exchanges between the duo sensitive and easeful. Schaupp reveals a broad selection of guitar techniques in framing Noonan’s stunning tonal contrasts.
The duo is currently touring this album across the country.
Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp will perform Songs of the Southern Skies, Vol. 2 at Brisbane Powerhouse on November 21 at 7.30pm, brisbanepowerhouse.org