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Sheet Music: ScoreYunggamurra, river spirit : for voice and piano / Betty Beath ; words by Patricia Wrightson.by Betty Beath (1984)
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Product details
Yunggamurra is a setting of prose and verse by the Australian writer Patricia Wrightson, O.B.E. She responded to my request for permission to set some of her work by extracting the following from her book, 'The Dark Bright Water' which was first published tin 1979 by the Hutchinson Publishing Group Limited.
"Yunggamurra, river-spirit, singing from the rocks; silver like moonlight, lovely, wet with dew like a flower. Her dark hair flows down to the rock and she combs it with delicate fingers. She combs it with delicate claws.
Are you not coming? sings the bright water. Are you not coming?
The glimmer-bright water alright with the glances of glimmer-bright eyes.
Are you not coming? sings the dark water. Are you not coming?
The dark-flowing water like washes and ripples of dark-floating hair.
I sing in the sunlight with dark eyes aglimmer. Are you not coming?
I sing in the shadows with dark hair down-flowing. Are you not here?
Her eyes are lit with moonlight, soft and shining, and she smiles with the sweetness of honey. She is dark and silver like moonlit water, lovely and remote like a dream. Her song is sharp and sweet like wild honey: sweet with longing, sharp and sour with magic."
I had made a long search for material to set and I was delighted with the above text provided by Patricia Wrightson, to do with spirits of Aboriginal myth and legend. Her images spark a strong response and were a challenge to me. Her work is subtle, mysterious, suggesting, for example, the Yunggamurra as both river spirit and aboriginal woman.
Published by: Wirripang [979 0 720140 27 8] — 1 score (9p. -- A4 (portrait))
Difficulty: Advanced — High level student/professional.
Duration: 4 mins, 10 sec.
Dedicated to Susan Lorette Dunn
First performance 1986. 4th International Congress of Women in Music, Atlanta, USA.
Includes programme notes and biographical notes on the composer.
Typeset edition.
ISMN: 979 0 720140 27 8
Related products
This work is also available in the following products:
CD: River songs / Betty Beath ... [et al.].
CD: Celebrating the work of Australian women composers
This work also exists as the following versions:
- Unspecified voice with chamber ensemble
- Browse other works published by Wirripang
- Browse other works for Unspecified Voice with piano
- Browse other works by Betty Beath
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