Sydney Philharmonia Choirs performs Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles this month. When Talbot was in Australia for the 2017 Melbourne Festival, Jo Litson caught up with the composer to talk about Path of Miracles and his score Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in this article first published October 20, 2017.


In September, the Australian Ballet gave the Australian premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which features an original score by British composer Joby Talbot, who is fast building a reputation as one of the great composers for dance today.

Reviewing the Melbourne opening, Limelight described Talbot’s score as “rich, colourful music, designed to match the eccentricity of the characters on stage”. In December, the AB will perform the production in Sydney.

Meanwhile, tonight and tomorrow, Melbourne audiences will have the chance to hear a very different piece of music by 46-year old Talbot – an a cappella choral work called Path of Miracles, commissioned by award-winning British vocal ensemble Tenebrae in 2005.

Joby Talbot. Photograph © Johan Persson

Tenebrae has returned to Talbot’s masterpiece – which The Times described as “an evocative odyssey” –  to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Pairing it with a new...