Flight Memory pays tribute, through music, to a critically important Australian invention

Flight Memory
A jazz song cycle

By Sandra France and Alana Valentine

Directed by Caroline Stacey

The Street Theatre
Nov 14 - 17, 2019


by Tony Magee


8.36am, December 31, 1968 - New Years Eve.

MACROBERTSON MILLER Airlines Flight 175, (the WA subsidiary of Ansett Airlines), a Vickers Viscount registered as VH-RMQ, takes to the skies from Perth, en-route to Port Hedland.

It never arrives.

35 km from the destination, part of the right wing separates, along with one engine and the plane crashes, killing all 26 on board.

The aircraft was equipped with a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder.

It is the first aviation disaster anywhere in the world, where both these devises helped discover the cause of the accident, in this case, structural failure due to metal fatigue.

The exact plane, MMA Viscount VH-RMQ taxiing at Perth two years earlier in 1966. Photo: Merv Prime

AS A CHILD in the 1960’s, I can remember seeing my parents off on various occasions from Canberra airport on that model of plane.

The Viscount was in service for both Ansett and TAA, who were the domestic carriers of the time.

Qantas was overseas only, using the Boeing 707 jet aircraft and the older propeller driven Lockheed Super Constellation.

On warm-up and taxiing to the runway, the four propeller engines of the Viscount screamed - it was deafening. During take-off, the doppler effect kicked in and the sound became a low, humming, drone as she became airborne.

IN COMPOSING music within the jazz idiom, to capture the essence and vital necessity of the Australian invention of the Cockpit Voice Recorder, Sandra France and Alana Valentine have delivered a musical whirlwind tour, encompassing a huge range of stylistic variation.

Arranged for three singers and a six piece instrumental accompaniment, the piece is effectively a modern jazz song-cycle.

L-R: singers Liam Budge, Michelle Nicolle and Leisa Keen in rehearsal. Photo: Shelly Higgs

Leisa Keen, Michelle Nicolle and Liam Budge form the excellent vocal ensemble performing in solo, duet and trio formats, each song telling the story of the idea, struggle, rejections, prototypes, final working model and eventually, acceptance accolades, that became the cockpit voice recorder, or CVR - all the work of Australian inventor and aviation enthusiast David Warren.

The band comprises some of Canberra's finest musical talent - Brendan Clarke on bass, Gary France on drums, Jess Green on guitar, Ben Marston on trumpet, Tom Fell on alto sax with Sandra France directing and leading from the piano.

OUR family lived in Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula during the 1970’s. Sir Reginald Ansett had a huge mansion there on Canadian Bay Road at the time.

Sir Reginald Ansett KBE. Photo courtesy W Bro D Hudson, Freemasons Victoria.

Reg was a frequent visitor at the local shopping centre, affectionally known as “The Village”, along with fellow luminaries Noel Ferrier, Mike Walsh, Graham Kennedy and the Reyne brothers, James and David, founding members of the Aussie rock band Australian Crawl, all residents of that suburb.

They were always up for a wave or a "Hi Reg" or "Hi Graham" as we passed them by in and out of Safeways Supermarket or other shops.

THE ANSETT operated MacRobertson Miller Viscount air disaster on New Years Eve 1968 caused the immediate grounding of all Viscounts flying in Australia. Three weeks later this became permanent and spelt the end for older style prop driven aircraft on Australia's domestic routes. By 1970, that model along with the twin engined Focker F-27 Friendship and the larger four engined Lockheed Electra were fazed out and replaced by the new, sleek, jet driven Douglas DC-9 and Focker F-100 and later the first generation of Boeing 737 and 727.

For the international routes, affectionately dubbed "The Kangaroo Routes" Qantas replaced the aging Boeing 707s and antiquated Super Constellations with the new and massive Boeing 747 type 100 - a plane that remained in service, with various upgrades, for the next 50 years. The last one will be retired in July 2020.

PERHAPS the best example of the use of a CVR in solving the cause of an air disaster is the Tenerife accident of March 27, 1977 at Canary Islands involving Pan Am Boeing 747 flight 1736 and KLM Boeing 747 flight 4805.

Just past 5pm, KLM flight 4805 is instructed to taxi down the entire length of the runway. Dense fog has now covered the airport, making it difficult to see beyond a few hundred meters. The tower orders Pan Am flight 1736 to follow the KLM before exiting the runway using Taxiway C3.

Here is the exact transcript of the CVR recordings from both planes and the Control Tower, which reveal the conversations and confusion that led to the world's worst aviation disaster:

Flight Officer Bragg: "Tenerife, this is Pan Am Clipper 1736"

TFN Tower: "Clipper 1736, Tenerife"

FO Bragg: "We were instructed to contact you and also to taxi down the runway. Is that correct?"

Tower: "Affirmative, taxi onto the runway and leave the runway third, third turn on your left."

Bragg: "Third to the left, okay."

Flight engineer: "He said third."

Captain Grubbs: "I thought he said first."

Bragg: "I'll ask him again."

The thick fog means that both aircraft are invisible to the tower and to each other.

Tower: "KLM 4805, how many taxiways did you pass?"

Flight Officer Meurs: "I think we just passed Charlie Four now."

Tower: "Okay. At the end of the runway make a 180 [degree] and report ready for ATC clearance."

Meanwhile, on the Pan Am...

FO Bragg: "The first one is a 90 degree turn."

Capt Grubbs: "Yeah, okay."

Bragg: "It must be the third. I'll ask him again."

Bragg: "Tower, would you confirm that you want us to turn left at the third intersection?"

Capt Grubbs: "One, two..."

Tower: "The third one sir. One, two three - third - the third one."

Capt Grubbs: "Good. That's what we need right? The third one?"

Flight engineer: "Uno, dos, tres."

Capt Grubbs: "Uno, dos, tres."

Flight engineer: "Tres, si."

Grubbs: "Right."

Flight engineer: "We'll make it yet."

Grubbs: "That's two."

Flight engineer: "That's a 45 [degree] right there."

Grubbs: "Yeah."

Pan Am 1736 is now approaching the third exit.

Bragg: "That's the one right there."

Grubbs: "Yeah, I know."

Flight engineer: "Okay, next one is almost a 45 [degree], huh, yeah."

Grubbs: "But it goes...yeah but it goes straight ahead. I think it's gonna put us on the taxiway."

Flight engineer: "Yeah, just a little bit, yeah."

Flight 1736 has now passed their intended exit, Charlie Three.

KLM 4805 has now reached the beginning of the runway, done it's 180 degree turn and after lining up, Captain van Zanten immediately throttles up for takeoff.

Flight Officer Meurs: "Wait a minute - we don't have an ATC clearance."

Capt van Zanten: "No, I know that. Go ahead and ask."

FO Meurs: "Tower, KLM 4805 is now ready for takeoff and we are waiting for our ATC clearance."

Tower: "KLM 4805, you are cleared to the Papa Beacon, climb to and maintain flight level 90, right turn after takeoff, proceed with heading 40 until intercepting the three two five radial from Las Palmas VOR."

Meurs: "Ah roger sir. We are cleared to the Papa Beacon, flight level 90 until intercepting the three two five. We are now at take-off."

Capt van Zanten: "We're going. Clear for thrust."

Tower: "Okay"

KLM 4805 is now at full thrust and speeding down the runway for take-off.

Tower: [addressing the KLM plane] "Stand by for take-off. I will call you."

FO Bragg (on the Pan Am): "And we're still taxiing down the runway, the Clipper 1736."

Tower: "Papa Alfa 1736, report the runway clear."

FO Bragg: "Okay, we'll report when we're clear."

Tower: "Thank you."

Capt Grubbs: "Let's get the fuck out of here."

FO Bragg: "Yeah, he's anxious isn't he?"

Flight engineer: "Yeah, after he held us up for half an hour now he's in a rush."

Pan Am 1736 is now still on the runway and approaching exit Charlie Four [they had missed the third one]

Flight engineer Schreuder [KLM]: "Is he not clear then?"

Capt van Zanten: "What do you say?"

Schreuder: "That Pan American - is he not clear?"

Capt van Zanten: "Oh, yes."

Capt Grubbs [Pan Am]: "There he is ...look at him. Goddamm that son-of-a-bitch is coming!"

FO Meurs: "V1"

Capt van Zanten: "Oh, shit!"

FO Bragg: "Get off, get off, get off."

KLM 4805 could not gain enough height to clear Pan Am 1736, which had not finished taxiing off the runway.
Photo courtesy Smithsonian YouTube channel.

All voice communication ends at that point, as the KLM plane, having just made lift off, shears off the top of the Pam Am and crashes back down onto the runway in a fireball. All 248 aboard perish.

Of the 396 passengers and crew on the Pan Am flight, 61 survive, including Captain Grubbs, First Officer Bragg and Flight Engineer Warn.

Total fatalities 583.


LEGACY OF THE CVR RECORDINGS

As a result of this accident, the aviation industry made numerous recommendations on language usage, terminology and the need for junior officers to be more assertive towards their captains if they thought something wasn't right, with hierarchical relations amongst crew members being played down, with a greater emphasis on team decision making by mutual agreement.

This resulted in the development of Crew Resource Management, as a fundamental part of airline pilot's training.

Colloquial phrases such as "okay" or "roger" were banned, in favour of a readback of the key parts of the instruction to show mutual understanding.

The word "takeoff" in terms of the phrase "ready for takeoff" has been replaced by "departure", ie: "ready for departure". The word "takeoff" can only be used when the aircraft is cleared to do just that by Air Traffic Control. Additionally, once an aircraft is lined up and ready for departure, the tower must prefix this with "hold position".

These practices are now world-wide amongst all airlines and all airports.


AUSTRALIA became the first country to mandate the carriage of cockpit voice recorders on civil transport aircraft, a trend which was later followed by other countries. Today, all large civil transport aircraft are required to carry a CVR.

THANK YOU David Warren for your invention and thank you to the cast, crew, production team and composers of Flight Memory for enlightening our audiences through music on the critical value and necessity of the CVR.

[Author's note: The above is an article and NOT a review. I was scheduled to review Flight Memory for Canberra City News, attending as a music critic in the audience, however, I ended up in Calvary Hospital instead, for a fortnight, and my colleagues Rob Kennedy, Bill Stephens and Len Power attended and reviewed the show. You can read Rob's review here, Bill's review here and Len's review here. I however, have always had a passionate interest in commercial aviation history, so from my hospital bed I wrote and filed the above story for the CCC Blog and also my own blog, Art Music Theatre. Tony Magee]

Big bequest sets Canberra Opera on a professional course

Peter Coleman-Wright. Photo courtesy The Australian

by Helen Musa

CANBERRA Opera is to receive a $500,000 bequest and is already planning a more professional future, according to local music sources.

It is believed that the organisation will use the windfall to develop a more professional profile and that it is looking to engage as artistic director the celebrated Australian baritone Peter Coleman Wright, who, with his wife, the soprano Cheryl Barker, is familiar to Canberra audiences through performances at “Voices in the Forest”.

But while the bequest is common knowledge in the Canberra singing community and the company has been quietly engaging personnel and setting up media dates with Peter Coleman-Wright, so far Canberra Opera has remained tight-lipped, beyond a hint in its  latest newsletter that “there will… be a major announcement about the company in early December following our Christmas concert”.

The newsletter also reports: “International opera singer Peter Coleman-Wright AO has expressed an interest in our company and will be in Canberra from December 10-12,” adding that the company will put on a showcase “so he can hear the talent that exists in Canberra so he might foster and grow it with us”.

Canberra Opera is an amateur organisation which was started in 2011 by David and Margot Reedy as the modest “Canberra Opera Workshop” (COW). The company incorporated in 2013 and is now run independently, often presenting opera and musical theatre to audiences in non-traditional venues.

Its productions have become more ambitious in recent years, with a very successful season of Puccini‘s “Gianni Schicchi” and Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana”, in August.

Canberra Opera is not to be confused with a company of this same name that ran from 1974-1984 with many main-stage operas at the Canberra Theatre, nor with Opera ACT, which succeeded it and last performed in 1991.

First published at Canberra City News, November 27, 2019

Review: Lisa's rich viola playing a concert rarity

by Tony Magee

BEETHOVEN composed three piano quartets in 1785, one of which was the “Piano Quartet No. 1 in E-flat major”. 

The work reveals the astounding talent and maturity of a 15 year old boy, already reaching a peak of compositional greatness, which further increased over his 57 years of life.

In the hands of Skride Piano Quartet, the work came across with conviction and sonority.

Skride Piano Quartet. Photo: Keith Saunders

Of particular note throughout the entire concert was the tone projection, superb intonation and beauty of sound from viola player Lisa Berthaud.

I’ve never heard such lustrous, rich and boldly included tones and passages from this instrument. It is rare to find compositions which feature the viola so prominently.

In addition, the beautiful intonation and projection of cellist Julian Steckel, particularly when he played in the upper register, came through with grace and beauty.

For my taste, the piano, played by Lauma Skride, was too reserved. More an accompaniment than an integral part of the quartet.

Specially commissioned for the concert was Australian composer Graeme Koehne’s “Socrates’ Garden”, which followed the Beethoven.

Alas, placed in between Beethoven and Brahms, the difference between inspired genius and a talented modern composer was very evident.

The quartet played the piece beautifully, but as a composition, at best it could be described as “pretty”.

Brahms’ massive and complex “Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25” was the centrepiece after interval.

In this, the pianist came forward and delivered a much more focussed, vital and integral contribution to the piece, particularly in the Andante movement where tone projection and beauty of sound was excellent.

Leader and sister Baiba Skride, playing first violin, delivered a beautiful sound throughout the entire concert. Sometimes I felt she could have projected a little more.

My other disappointment was the attire. Very basic in dull black, except for a cream top from viola player Lisa Berthaud. Even that though was ordinary, and out of sync with the potential prestigiousness of the concert and the repertoire.

In the interests of balance however, I quote from Shakespeare’s play, “The Taming of the Shrew”:

Baptista: “Will you be married to my daughter dressed thus?”

Petruchio: “She’s getting married to me, not unto my cloths. Away!”

My feeling for the duration of this well played concert, was that it was not quite up to the level of professionalism and international standards that Music Viva usually presents.

First published in City News Digital Edition, November 15, 2019

Handel's Dixit Dominus superlative in performance highlight of the year

Vespers for Kings and Cardinals

CORO Chamber Ensemble, directed by Peter Young

Orchestra leader, Barbara Jane Gilby

Wesley Uniting Church

November 3 2019

by Tony Magee

Presenting two different settings of “Dixit Dominus”, one by Handel, the other by Charpentier, as well as two other pieces by the latter, CORO Chamber Music Ensemble presented an outstanding, finely polished and refined performance. It was one of the classical music concert highlights of the year.

“Dixit Dominus” is a setting using the Latin text of “Psalm 110”, from The Book of Psalms, part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible and thus from the Christian Old Testament. Versus 1 and 4 are also quoted in the New Testament.

Translating as “The Lord Said”, the Psalm has also been set to music by Victoria, Monteverdi (twice), Pergolesi, Vivaldi (three times), Michael Haydn and Mozart amongst others.

Richard Rogers composed a partial setting in 1959, using versus 1, 5 and 7 for the opening sequence of his musical “The Sound of Music”.

One of the most impressive things about the interpretation of the three Charpentier works, which opened the concert, was the accurate, authentic and tasteful use of French Baroque ornamentation, from both choir and orchestra, starting on the note above.

Musical director Peter Young, who also played organ and harpsichord, has put in a massive amount of research into the preparation for this concert. In particular his transcription of Charpentier’s “Lauda Jerusalem”, was impressive, this being the Australian premier performance.

Also contributing greatly to the success of the Charpentier works, was the excellent solo continuo playing by cellist Sam Payne, delivering a solid bass foundation with superb intonation, aided by Peter Young’s sensitive organ playing, which served to accompany the many beautifully sung solo and duet vocal passages which are a hallmark of this era of music.

Composed and first performed in 1707, when Handel was aged just 22 and living in Italy, his setting of “Dixit Dominus” is one of his earliest substantial works, showcasing his incredible talent, skill and musical understanding as well as fresh new compositional ideas, which would influence other composers of the Baroque era over the next 50 years.

The choir and orchestra, led with precision by Barbara Jane Gilby, were much more voluminous during the Handel, rich and beautifully balanced, with superb pitch and intonation and with greater attention to dynamic range.

Throughout the Handel, one could hear sections, particularly the versus “Juravit Dominus” and “Judicabit”, which seem to have greatly influenced Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, particularly in his setting of the “Gloria in D”, RV589. 

During the verse “Dominus a dextris tuis”, an unusual combination of the two cellos in unison with double bass supported two soprano soloists with tenor and bass in a fascinating and complex musical interplay.

Wesley Church is one of the most beautifully acoustically balanced venues for this kind of music. It allows for great clarity of sound, enhanced by a gentle cathedral resonance.

At the conclusion of the Handel, CORO and the orchestra had the audience on its feet, deservedly receiving rapturous applause for this superlative and highly professional performance.

First published in City News Digital Edition, November 4, 2019