ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses essentially on Clive Douglas's artistic aims through his music and published views in order to assess to what extent he may be considered a 'Jindyworobak composer'. The Jindyworobak movement was founded by Rex Ingamells including Ian Mudie, Flexmore Hudson, William Hart-Smith and Roland Robinson. The operatic style of A Bush Legend is 'continuous' – that is to say there is no division into 'numbers' or distinct sections of aria or recitative. The general texture is one of open-ended arioso, only occasionally veering towards periodic phrase structures, while the accompaniment is often static or ostinato-driven. Douglas's short Corroboree is one of the earliest depictions of an Aboriginal dance ceremonial universally known among Europeans by this single name. It invites comparison, of course, with John Antill's considerably more substantial suite of the same name, which is arguably the most famous single Australian art music composition of the first half of the twentieth century.