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Isaac Nathan - The Aboriginal Father

from Australian Monody by The Marais Project

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about

The Aboriginal Mother and The Aboriginal Father are part of the Australian Melodies song cycle (1841-1863) which contains 28 songs written by Isaac Nathan in colonial Sydney. The song cycle codifies examples of Aboriginal music in a fusion style intended to universally represent modern post-enlightenment Australian society. The underlying ethos is to promote a modern moral position in an antipodal imitation of his Hebrew Melodies. As Above, So Below.

Nathan embedded ancient symbolism fashionable in amorous British Romanticism which took its inspiration in part from the mystical religions of the Italian Renaissance. Through these songs, Nathan paid tribute to Aboriginal musicians as the first in the land. In 2021, Linda Barwick and Jakelin Troy identified and claimed the Song of the Maneroo Women, as a songline of the Ngarigu women of the Snowy Mountains. Nathan inverted the song The Aboriginal Father and juxtaposed it against Handel's Peni tu per un'ingrata from Ezio 1732. Therefore, these songs may be uniquely considered as an example of both, a misappropriation of Aboriginal culture, and a metaphorical Acknowledgement of Country.

This song cycle is a milestone achievement in Australian music that metaphorically reflects the historical social complexities of colonial society. As such, it may be worth adding to the historical timeline of the Uluru Statement of the Heart. Nathan was the first composer to create a representative compositional style fusing Aboriginal and European music in his Australian Melodies. Furthermore, this nationalist and humanist approach influenced many other Australian composers, including John Antill and Peter Sculthorpe. Therefore, the Australian Melodies song cycle may be considered an important historical step towards the emergence of Australian musical identity. (David Crowden)

lyrics

The Aboriginal Father

A native Song of the Maneroo Tribe. Versified by Eliza Hamilton Dunlop.

The Shadow on thy brow, my child,
Like a mist o'er the clear Lagoon,
Steals on with presage, dim and wild
Of the death clouds' direful gloom.
Our Tribes droop by each Native stream
Where the founts which have fed them lie;
And White Man's fire sends forth its gleam,
O'er the Batwan where they die.
And thou my boy! the last - the first -
Green leaf of a smouldering tree!
A stranger's eye will crush the burst,
Of a Warrior's lament o'er thee.

credits

from Australian Monody, released May 22, 2022
Susie Bishop, soprano & violin; Tommie Andersson, 9-string guitar; Jennifer Eriksson, viola da gamba

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The Marais Project Sydney, Australia

Founded by Jennifer Eriksson in 2000 The Marais Project has a focus on the music written for the viola da gamba - both old and new. The ensemble has released 9 commercial CDs and present Australia's longest running viola da gamba recital series. In 2019 they celebrated their 20th anniversary. ... more

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