Australian Melodies

Isaac Nathan wrote his Australian Melodies song cycle between 1841-1848. The songs feature some examples of Aboriginal Music who Nathan identified as the first Australian composers. The last of these melodies were published in a book called The Southern Euphrosyne in 1848. 

Seven songs within the cycle were inspired by Aboriginal melodies or calls. The melodies depict Aboriginal culture from Isaac Nathan's interested and curious perspective. They are evidence of ceremony songs, totem songs, and songlines and of positive artistic cross-cultural relations dating back nearly 200 years. Despite the Frontier Wars, which were divisive and traumatic, these songs are an example of how Australian History could have been very different, and they give inspiration moving forward.