| Barrabul-la Voices Yabun Yaguna, Wuganmagulya No.3 |
| Score prt.1: Barrabul-la Voices score prt1 Appendix 8 p.402 Score prt.2: Barrabul-la Voices score prt2 Appendix 8 p.413 Audio Recording: prt.1 Barrabul-la Voices prt1 std.rec.wav Audio Recording: prt.2 Barrabul-la Voices prt2 std.rec.wav Performance footage: Barrabul-la Voices performance video |
| Audio visual table 6.3 |
Score: prt1. mm.1- 62. Studio rec prt.1 : 3:37; Live performance prt.1 : 3:36
Score: prt.2 mm.1- 67. Studio rec prt. 2 : 4:05
Barrabul-la Voices uses the distinctive quality of the Stuart piano tone. The sound of the onset of the Stuart note was found to be more percussive than that of the modern piano in comparative tests of chapter four. A wider harmonic array of the spectrum of harmonics sounded consistently at the beginning of the Stuart piano sound. In Barrabul-la Voices we hear this aspect of tone production influencing the distinctive clarity in the sound of the melodic piano phrases.
In Barrabul-la Voices a parallel melodic line was composed for the Stuart piano to sound ‘in duet’ with E. Collins’s 1793 transcription of the Barrabul-la chant melody. In part 1, the chant is sung by Clarence Slockee and Matthew Doyle. In part 2 the chant melody is played by tenor saxophonist Brenda Gifford, and sung by Matthew Doyle. The ‘European’ singers of Ancient & New provide a choral four part ambience in part 1. The clapping sticks are featured throughout parts 1 & 2. Part 2 was not performed live.
Barrabul-la Voices part 1. Score: mm.1- 62. Studio rec: 3:37; Live performance footage: 3:36
The first stanza of the Barrabul-la chant melody is sung 3 times by Clarence Slockee before the whole chant is heard. The repeated sounding of the first stanza enables the piano line, the choral ambience and the irregular clapping stick phrases to establish as equal parts in the collective ensemble sound, before the complete chant is sung. The composed ensemble sound is ritualistic, with minimal dynamic changes throughout. The piano line is played in the manner of an improvised vocal line. The occasional chordal rest points in the piano line, feature the colourful chords of D phrygian.
A re-composition of the chant melody occurs at mm.27 (2:10 std.rec; 2:24 perf. 2:10) with a descending line spanning the range of the complete seven note D phrygian mode from D to Eb . The line begins using mm.18 of E.Collins’s original transcription450 , the octave leap high point of the chant line, and descends through the D phygian in the similar stepwise motion of the transcription. The high point of Collin’s transcription is then repeated, as a call, before the complete descending line is sounded a second time.
450see Barraabul-la extract p.221.
