Has Sculthorpe Misappropriated Indigenous Melodies?

Figures & data

Table 1 Appearances of the ‘Kakadu Songlines’ in Sculthorpe's Works, 1974–1996.

Name	Source	Work	Style/type
Groote Eylandt Melody	Of Groote Eylandt origin, sourced from Jones (1965, 333, Elkin recording 76A)	Song of Tailitnama (1974) and multiple derivative works	Japanese idiom, with [01568] or in scale harmonies
		Earth Cry (1986)
		String Quartet No. 12 (From Ubirr) (1994)
Djilile	From Arnhem Land, sourced from Jones and Elkin (1956, 339, Elkin recordings 24A and 12A)	Essington (1974)	Unique (pitches, A, B, C, D, and lower auxiliary G)
		Port Essington (1977) Dua Chant (1978)
		Djilile (1986; multiple versions)
		Kakadu (1988)
		Dream Tracks and Tropic (1992)
Elcho Island Lament	As sung by the Elcho Island tribal elder, Mawuyul Yathalawuy	Manganinnie (1980)	Japanese idiom, with [01568] or in scale harmonies
		The Visions of Captain Quiros (1980)
		Quiros (1982)
		Kakadu (1988)
		Nourlangie (very loosely) (1989)
		Threnody (1991–1992)
		Dream Tracks and Tropic (1992)
		From Kakadu (1992)
French Atlas Chant	Collected by a member of the Baudin expedition published in Paris, 1824	Sun Song 1/Jabiru Dreaming (1989) String Quartet 11 (Jabiru Dreaming) (1990) and Jabiru Dreaming (1992)	Balinese idiom, but the melody is based on a major scale
		Third Sonata for Strings (1994)
Torres Strait Dance-Song	From the Torres Strait Islands, sourced from Beckett (1981, recorded in the 1960s)	Nourlangie (1989) Little Nourlangie (1990) Nangaloar (1991)	Balinese idiom, based on a major pentatonic melody
		A Sun Song for Eric (1991)
		From Nourlangie (1993; multiple versions)
Estatico Melody (the descriptive term for its appearance in Tropic)	From the Torres Strait Islands, sourced from Beckett (1981; recorded in the 1960s)	Dream Tracks and Tropic (1992) String Quartet No.13 (Island Dreaming) (1996)	Balinese idiom, with a major pentatonic melody
Sabai Melody	From Sabai in the Torres Strait Islands Beckett (1981; recorded in the 1960s)	Songs of Sea and Sky (1991) From Kakadu (1992) From Sabai (1993) Sabai (1994)	Unusual—based on [01568] but sounds major rather than like the Japanese in scale

Table 2 Other Works by Sculthorpe, 1974–1996, Employing Melodic Quotations.

Works	Melodic source
String Quartet No. 9 (1975), Burke and Wills (1985), Burke and Wills Suite (1985)	Unspecified Aboriginal melodies
Sun Song (1976), Cantares (1979), First Sonata for Strings (1983), String Quartet No. 10 (1983)	Native American melodies
Landscape II (1978), Mangrove (1979), Piano Concerto (1983)	Japanese saibara melodies
Requiem (1979), Cantares (1979), Quiros (1982), Momenti Mori (1993)	Gregorian chant
Three Pieces for Prepared Piano (1982)	Balinese melodies
Simori (1992; multiple versions)	Melodies from Papua New Guinea

Figure 1 Asian Five-note Scale Forms used by Sculthorpe: (a) in scale (or hirajoshi koto tuning), being set class [01568], and (b) major pentatonic scale, being set class [02479].

Figure 2 ‘Kakadu Songlines’ of the Japanese Idiom: (a) Groote Eylandt Melody, and (b) Elcho Island Lament.

Figure 3 ‘Kakadu Songlines’ of the Balinese Idiom: (a) Torres Strait Dance-Song, and (b) Estatico Melody.

Figure 4 The Other Two Most Common ‘Kakadu Songlines’: (a) Djilile (the melody) as it appears in Djilile (the work), and (b) The French Atlas Chant as it appears in String Quartet No. 11 (Jabiru Dreaming).

Figure 5 The Elcho Island Lament as it Appears in From Kakadu, mm. 1–14.

Figure 6 Comparison of: (a) the vocal melody from The Song of Tailitnama, mm. 26–40 (from 1974) with (b) the Elcho Island Lament as it appears in From Kakadu, mm. 1–6.

Figure 7 The Song of Tailitnama (1974, revised 1994, mm. 1–15). Note: Showing a vocal melody clearly based on the in scale and, in this case, the notes of the hirajoshi tuning of the koto (E, F, A, B, C).

Figure 8 Tropic, mm. 13–28. Note: Showing one and a half statements of Djilile, followed by an interruption derived from the Elcho Island Lament, harmonized with all five notes of the in scale (D, E, F, A, Bb).

Figure 9 Set Class [0157] in the Harmonization of the Elcho Island Lament, mm. 1–4 of From Kakadu.

Figure 10 Excerpt of the Original Groote Eylandt Melody. Note: Transcribed by Trevor Jones as it appears in Covell (1967, 326).

Figure 11 Excerpt from The Song of Tailitnama (Version for Soprano and Piano, 1994, mm. 25–35). Note: Showing Sculthorpe's modification of the intervals of the Groote Eylandt Melody (right hand of piano) to conform to the Japanese in scale (C, Db, F, G, Ab); what would have been D natural becomes Db.

Figure 12 Djilile as it Appears in the Work Djilile.

Figure 13 The Torres Strait Dance-Song (Violin 1) in Nourlangie, mm. (97) 100–12. Note: Based on a Major pentatonic scale and showing Sculthorpe's archetypal techniques for harmonizing pentatonic melodies.

Figure 14 Excerpt from Tropic. Note: Showing the Estatico Melody (of Torres Strait origin) and Sculthorpe's archetypal techniques for harmonizing pentatonic melodies.

Figure 15 Comparing the Harmonic Patterns in the Ostinati (Each Consisting of a Three-note Repeating Cell) used to Accompany Pentatonic Melodies in Tropic and Nourlangie: (a) Tropic, mm. 115–16 (repeating six times) and 119–255 (repeating three times), and (b) Nourlangie, mm. 100–65 (repeating three times) and 201–62 (repeating three times).

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