Peter Sculthorpe

Djilile (1986)

The very opening melody of this work is a transcription of an aboriginal chant from Arnhem Land, collected by the anthropologist A.P.Elkin in the late fifties. Still well-known in the area, the chant is called ‘Djilile’, meaning ‘whistling-duck on a billabong’. Originally the work was written as a piano solo. I later decided to add a ‘cello melody. As the piano music is modal, it seemed to me a good idea to give the ‘cello a somewhat chromatic line, music that is even a little romantic in the European sense. Djilile, then, demonstrates the principle of dualism, a principle that is consistently present in almost all my music since the mid-fifties. Many of my works are also concerned with the environment and social issues. In Djilile for ‘cello and piano, my intention is to suggest that it is possible for the white Australian and the aborigine to live together in harmonious manner. Peter Sculthorpe