Songs from the Northern Territory – box set of 5 CDs

Cultural context

An essential resource for didgeridoo players who are interested in the traditional playing styles of the Top-End, recorded by prominent ethnomusicologist Alice M. Moyle between 1962 and 1963, released by AIATSIS in the early ’70s on vinyl, then on CD in 1977; the current edition reprinted recently.

”The material reproduced in this five set of discs has been selected from field (tape) recordings … at Oenpelli, Milingimbi, Yirrkala, Rose and Roper Rivers, Angurugu and Umbakumba (Groote Eylandt), Bagot (Darwin) and Beswick Creek Reserve. (…) the discs devoted to the music of the eastern and north-eastern Arnhem Land. In this region … there is a varied array of song types or styles, many of them accompanied by the didjeridu.” ( Moyle, 1974, p. 1).

The didgeridoo accompaniments on these recordings nowadays are classified as ‘old-style’ playing, that are practised only by senior songmen and didgeridoo players in Arnhem Land. Some of the tracks on the CDs are solo didgeridoo pieces followed by mouth-sounds spoken by the player, that makes this resource a unique learning material for both traditional and contemporary players.

Unfortunately the companion booklet that were included in the previous editions are no longer available in the latest release; you can find more information about the recordings:
Disc 1 – Aboriginal Music from Western Arnhem Land
Disc 2 – Aboriginal Music from Eastern Arnhem Land
Disc 3- Aboriginal Music from Yirrkala and Milingimbi, North-Eastern Arnhem Land
Disc 4 – Aboriginal Music from North-Eastern Arnhem Land, including Groote Eylandt
Disc 5 – Aboriginal Music – Travelling Songs (‘Songlines’) from Southern Arnhem Land; also Songs from Bathurst and Melville Islands
The audio CDs are coming in slim CD cases.

We highly recommend this resource for everybody who are keen to learn about the traditional music of Australia.

THIS ITEM IS ON BACK ORDER, IT WILL BE AVAILABLE AGAIN VERY SOON.