The music for ‘Byal-la’ was composed to the words of Woollarawarre Bennelong⁴²⁰ , dictated to the letter scribe in Government House Sydney in 1796.

The publication of Bennelong’s letter makes him the first Aboriginal author to appear in print and is the first example of a text in English by an indigenous Australian. His words express a very personal and authentic Aboriginal “voice”, so elusive in the official record.⁴²¹

I performed ‘Byal-la’ with Richard Green at the Message Sticks Festival, Sydney Opera House , in 2013, to commemorate Wollarawarre Bennelong’s 200th anniversary of his death, 1813. The song begins with the selectively sustained notes, described in Guyanaylung, though here these notes are strummed by the pianist’s left hand, at fortissimo across the bass strings. Richard Green’s non-pitched vibrating vocal sound is a traditional cleansing sound that deepens the ceremonial effect of the introduction, and has secret business significance. The highest note of the Stuart is sounded in rapid repetition, depicting sounds of ceremonial shells.

The descending phrase in the treble at mm.3,⁴²³ is derived from the occurrence in Aboriginal traditional vocal melodies of descending stepwise sequences of notes. in

The music begins with a high note, and gradually sinks to the octave,⁴²⁴
This they begin at the top of their voices, and continue as long as they

⁴²⁰Keith Vincent Smith, Woollarawarre Bennelong, Dictionary of Sydney, 2013, http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/woollarawarre_bennelong, viewed 09 February 2015.
⁴²¹Keith Vincent Smith,“Bennelong’s letter expresses authentic Aboriginal voice,”The Australian newspaper, Dec. 29th, 2012, Arts Review. 2ndry Source: Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal literature.(Anthology of Australian Aboriginal literature) edited by Anita Heiss and Peter Minter ; general editor, Nicholas Jose.Montréal : McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008.
⁴²²Message Sticks Festival 2013: http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/About/13EventMediaRelease_MessageSticks2013.aspx Jill Stubington, “North Australian Aboriginal Music”, in: Australian Aboriginal Music, Aboriginal Artisits Agency Ltd. Australia. Isaacs, J. (ed) , 1979. http://www.manikay.com/library/north_australia_music.shtml
⁴²³ mm. is acronym for bar No. mm.3 =‘measure No. 3’, see key p.45
^{424     3}Field, 433- 434.