AustLit

'We join seven Aboriginal Elders in 1788 as they meet ‘The Visitors’.

;Imbued with Aboriginal customs, melody and humour from composer Christopher Sainsbury and libretto by original playwright and Muruwari woman, Jane Harrison, it tells the story of the early days of colonialism and its impacts on the First Peoples. Through metaphors of birds falling from the sky and changes to the weather, we watch as the Elders question how to respond to ‘the visitors’.'

Source: Production blurb.

'In a considered account of composers' pursuit of an Australian sound in contemporary music, from John Antill's Corroboree to the rappers of today, Christopher Sainsbury, composer, academic, activist and member of the Dharug people, uncovers the powerful bond between heritage and musical expression in the members of Ngarra burria: First Peoples Composers program. For non Indigenous Australians the long tail of European tradition continues to burden our music, he says; but the new Indigenous composers draw their inspiration from their own history, their country, stories, politics. Years of separation and misunderstanding have led to the misappropriation of Aboriginal songs and rituals in search of Australianness. Sainsbury calls for a rethinking of this, based on respect, and a new collaboration to begin between First Peoples composers and the new music sector, in which the former can be recognised as creators and performers of a real Australian sound that echoes back to the dawn of history.' (Publication summary)

'Indigenous composers have been around for a long time, with Deborah Cheetham and myself working in composition for some 30 years, Troy Russell for 25 years, and William Barton for 20 years, amongst quite a few others. Many more are now emerging, but most are seldom heard.' (Introduction)