This contemporary art-song captures the mystique surrounding the sacred Aboriginal rock 'ULURU'
which is located in Central Australia. It is set for either Baritone or Mezzo-Soprano voice and piano.
SHEET MUSIC
In the Shadow of Uluru – MMP 8105 is available as a PDF download here:
This link also takes you to the audio file for this song in which the melody is played by oboe accompanied by piano.
In the Shadow of Uluru
Music and lyrics
by Margaret Brandman
Sonorous tones of a distant didgeridoo
Drift across this ancient land.
In the shadow of Uluru.
Timeless, mystical forms
Standing in the blazing sun…
These spirits of an ancient land.
The ghostly withered forest of cinereal trees,
Holding secrets of archaic lore.
The wind whistling like hallow'd spirit voices,
They entice us and invite us through this mythical door.
Distant voices call me gently to enter this dream,
These mysteries of millennia are not what they seem.
I hear the stories of a sacred dream time
Telling tales of long ago
Tales that come to light, by camp-fire light.
I came to feel this heart of the country
And now I know where I belong.
And after the rains, the wild blooms return,
They carpet the ochre sands.
And they blossom in the coming of the bright dawning day
In the sun's golden rays.
Now time has come to return to the present
And the bright city life,
For the lure of the outback caresses my senses,
And my heart is full of hope and joie de vivre.
The wonderment I feel as I behold this scene,
This boundless land…
Forever in my heart and hands.
Song of the Currawong
Music and lyrics
by Margaret Brandman
Photo Credit Steven Brumby. Used by permission.
This contemporary art-song references Australian fauna and flora.
It is set for either Baritone or Mezzo-Soprano voice and piano.
SHEET MUSIC
Song of the Currawong – MMP 8106 is available as a PDF download here:
This link also takes you to the audio file for this song in which the melody is played by oboe accompanied by piano.
Song of the Currawong
Music and lyrics
by Margaret Brandman
I can sense the breeze
That stirs in the tops of gum trees,
Whispering in hush'd tones.
Hear a currawong
Perched high on a branch of a tall gum
Calling to her young.
The magpies and rosellas
Are flying overhead.
The kookaburra laughing in jest
I wander through the snow gums
With rainbow colour'd bark
Hearing the song of currawong,
Heralding the coming dark.
And into the night, stars shine over snowy fields,
Moonlight on trees standing tall and side by side in silence.
And lo!
These mighty trunks...
They long for the light.
When the dawn comes,
Our land is bathed in sunlight.
Branches appear, adorned in snow.
Valleys ring, as the currawong sings
Her joyous hymn to the sunrise.
