Singer/songwriter Lior is renowned for his beautiful voice and lyrics that radiate truth and sincerity, and as the world searches for compassion and understanding, the importance of music as a means of communication cannot be undervalued. In this musical narrative of love, loss and compassion, Tinalley and Lior perform a new song cycle by Melbourne composer, Ade Vincent. Three of Dvorak’s rousing love songs from his collection of Cypresses; echoes of love cherished, tormented and forgotten, are paired with Barber’s haunting ‘Adagio’ from his String Quartet Opus 11 and Lior’s achingly haunting ‘My Grandfather’. In a final quest for peace, Lior and Nigel Westlake reimagine Sim Shalom (Grant Peace) from ‘Compassion’, merging the symphonic world with that of the string quartet.

Ravel’s effusive String Quartet opens the program. Critics and public alike rejected the quartet when it was first performed, and yet now it is one of the genres most beloved works. At times wistful and at other times melancholic, even devastating; the work is in itself a reminder of the changeable nature of public sentiment.