Crossing Roper Bar - Volume 2

Crossing Roper Bar is a visionary exploration of jazz and the music traditions of Australia’s first people.

The Australian Art Orchestra began collaborating with the Young Wagilak Group in 2005. Based on an equal exchange of knowledge that began as a dialogue centred on music, Crossing Roper Bar developed into a process of collaborative composition that retains the beauty and dynamism of both traditions. The Young Wagilak Group have worked closely with the AAO to create a contemporary interpretation of ‘Wild Blackfella’, a song cycle which traces the journey of the ancestor through his country as he calls up and names things.

An electrifying marriage of the very old with the very new, Crossing Roper Bar is a celebration of country, of ceremony, and of the power of music to build enduring bridges across cultures, time and space.

Credits

released in 2014

Traditional Wägilak songs arranged collectively by the performers

Alto Flute, Bass Clarinet, Clarinet, Flute, Piccolo Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Tony Hicks (3)
Co-producer – Nikolaus Schäuble
Didgeridoo – David Yipininy Wilfred
Didgeridoo, Vocals – Benjamin Wilfred
Engineer – Ross Cockle
Keyboards – Paul Grabowsky
Mastered By – Philip Rex
Mixed By – Nikolaus Schäuble
Percussion – Benjamin Wilfred
Percussion, Vocals – Daniel Wilfred*
Producer – Paul Grabowsky