Solander: a song cycle for choir, vibraphone and narrator
Sydney Chamber Choir
12 February 

The Fantastical Life of Daniel Solander, Australia’s first Swede
The Marais Project
Australian Digital Concert Hall
17 February

Daniel Solander was a brilliant Swedish scholar who accompanied Sir Joseph Banks, gentleman botanist, on board the 1770 voyage of the Endeavour, under the captainship of Lieutenant James Cook. Solander was the first Swede to set foot on Terra Australis Incognita, and to circumnavigate the world. His life has been commemorated in the last week by two concerts: the first performance of Kate Reid’s song cycle Solander, and the Marais Project’s Fantastical Life of Daniel Solander, livestreamed from Sydney by the Australian Digital Concert Hall.

Jennifer Eriksson, Tommie Andersson and Susie Bishop perform in the Marais Project’s ‘The Fantastical Life of Daniel Solander: Australia’s First Swede’. Image supplied.

While both shows took their inspiration from this oft-forgotten figure in history, their music charted different paths. The Marais Project brought together a...