CSM 36: Film Music Of The 1960s From The Film Australia Collection
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Item Open Access Mirrie Hill: Aborigines Of The Sea Coast (1948) (Full Version)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1948) Composer: Mirrie Hill; McCarthy, JamesMirrie Hill's only score for the Unit draws upon Aboriginal themes and the musical style of Vaughan Williams. A big score for the time, it provides plenty of support for the commonly-held view that Hill was at least as good a composer as her husband, the well-known Alfred Hill. We had the pleasure of rerecording this score in 1973 for the film's reissue.Item Open Access Anthology of Austraian Music on Disc: CSM: 36 Film Music of the 1960s From the Film Australia Collection(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University) Crisp, DeborahItem Open Access Robert Hughes: Aborigines of Australia (1964)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1964) Composer: Robert Hughes; McCarthy, James"This was one of the last two films that film maker Ian Dunlop made in the traditional way, with a 'Voice Of God' commentary and traditional orchestral music. After this he embarked upon his celebrated series, Aborigines of the Australian Western Desert, using a cinema verite approach. This included the exclusive use of location sound and the use of his own voice for the commentary. A notable change of style for the Unit, this marked a new and more intimate approach to its filmmaking. One long-term effect was to change the way music was used and written in many Unit films, especially those dealing with non- Western themes. Aborigines of Australia was produced at the edge of this transition. Hughes' score, for a small instrumental group, is tactful and supportive." -- James McCarthyItem Open Access Werner Baer: Tumanu's People (1960)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1960) Composer: Werner Baer; McCarthy, James"This is one of three films made in the Northern Territory in 1960, the others, The Living North and North of the Centre, scored by Hughes and Herweg. Baer's score exemplifies the best of the pastorale style of composition. At its best this piano-based score describes dreamy, distant horizons and people on the move. The first recording, at EMI, was hampered by poor performances; the work was rerecorded in ABC Studio 226 some months later, but performance difficulties persisted. As a point of interest, much of the commentary in the film is spoken in the first person, in the character of an Aboriginal. This is read by a white commentator who sounds as if he has come straight out of drama school. It sounds very odd these days." -- James McCarthyItem Open Access Mirrie Hill: Aborigines Of The Sea Coast (1948) (String Version)(Canberra School of Music, Australian National University, 1948) Composer: Mirrie Hill; McCarthy, James"Mirrie Hill's only score for the Unit draws upon Aboriginal themes and the musical style of Vaughan Williams. A big score for the time, it provides plenty of support for the commonly-held view that Hill was at least as good a composer as her husband, the well-known Alfred Hill. We had the pleasure of rerecording this score in 1973 for the film's reissue." -- James McCarthy