Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

Buluwirri Bugaja Suite for Piano was written at the invitation from curator/concert pianist Coady Green, with generous support from City of Melbourne and a Faculty Research Grant from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne.

Buluwirri Bugaja Suite for Piano exists in two versions: a standalone solo piano concert version; and a "theatrical version" using sound designer Roger Alsop's soundscape, recorded from the region, and live narration interwoven through the music. The separate movements may be performed as standalone works.

Text for the latter presentation is provided by Yorta Yorta man Tiriki Onus, head of the Willin Centre at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, the University of Melbourne, who is also the narrator of the text on the CD recording* and in performances to date. The text and movement titles derive from stories in Onus' documentary Ablaze (2021), winner of the Victorian Premiere's History Award and the "Best Human Rights Film" at the Kiez Berlin Film Festival. It centres on the ground-breaking work of Tiriki's grandfather, the great Indigenous Human Rights activist, Bill Onus.

Composition of this work was inconceivable without the generous Indigenous consultation from Tiriki.

Movements for the solo work, with titles taken from Tiriki's texts, are:

I. The Moreton Bay Fig in Carlton Gardens (3:45)

II. Out of One's Place" (Deepdene & Balwyn) (4:30)

III. Still the Place I Go (and Take My Kids) to Feel Safe: Barmah Forest/Cummeragunja (4:15)

IV. Beneath the Shadow of Corhanwarrabul: Where Lin Onus Would Make His Art (5:45)

V. Unbroken: Lineages of Practice (4:00)

*The full ensemble version of this work will be released on CD in 2024 through Toccata Classics (London), with Tiriki Onus (narrator); Roger Alsop (soundscape); Coady Green (piano).

— Linda Kouvaras 2023

Work Details

Year: 2023

Instrumentation: Narrator, piano, soundscape.

Dedication note: Dedicated to Tiriki Onus, Coady Green. Dedicated to Tiriki Onus and Coady Green.

Commission note: Commissioned with funds provided by University of Melbourne, City of Melbourne.. Written at the invitation from curator/concert pianist Coady Green, with generous support from City of Melbourne and a Faculty Research Grant from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne.

First performance: by Duo Eclettico, Tiriki Onus at Of Birds and Monuments (The Memo (Healesville)) on 4 Jun 2023

The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc. of this work:
Neo-tonal, modal, postmodern