Move Records Australian classical & art music, est. 1968
Front cover art for Wordless Meanings

Wordless Meanings

In the beginning there was harmony – before anyone asked “What sort of music do you play?”, before everyone grew too busy to listen, before music became ‘the industry’. Somewhere along the way, harmony was lost in a cacophony of meaningless words.

Raga Dollsensemble
  • CatalogueMD 3249
  • Released2001
  • Playing time56 minutes 36 seconds

Listen & tracks

2 of 16 tracks have a preview · 14 works · 56:36

  1. 1 A Waltz David Osborne 2:45
  2. 2 At the Nest Tammy Rogers 3:11
  3. 3 Black Orpheus Luiz Bonfá 4:23
  4. 4 Still Life David Osborne 3:48
  5. 5 Destiny Sydney Baynes 7:06
  6. 6 The Gadfly Dmitri Shostakovich Romance 2:45
  7. 7 Left at Carlisle David Osborne 5:14
  8. 8 Cavalleria Rusticana Pietro Mascagni Intermezzo 2:58
  9. 9 Tango David Osborne 4:00
  10. 10 Ständchen Franz Schubert 3:45
  11. 11 Hungarian Dance no. 5 Johannes Brahms 3:35
  12. 12 Méditation from Thaïs Jules Massenet 5:38
  13. 13 Du bist die Ruh Franz Schubert 3:50
  14. 14 Another Tango David Osborne 3:38

Could it be too late, then, to imagine a new beginning?

Enter the Raga Dolls, a Melbourne-based salon quartet who perform the original compositions and arrangements of composer–violinist David Osborne. Their playing is shaped to reach listeners of every age and musical persuasion.

Wordless Meanings is the group’s debut album. This Move edition adds two bonus tracks not on the original private pressing, among them a cabaret-style reading of Schubert’s lied Du bist die Ruh.

In the artist’s words

In the first part of the 20th century, ‘Salon Ensembles’ proliferated throughout Europe and North America: small groups of ‘blue collar’ musicians performing in a variety of locations far removed from the concert hall.

Salon Ensembles were the garage bands of their day, setting a precedent, both in terms of economy of scale and ‘do it yourself’ approach for the jazz and rock’n’roll groups that were to follow. They weren’t fussy about what they played, be it a Schubert song, Argentinian Tango, Strauss Waltz or Scott Joplin Rag, as long as people wanted to hear it. This is one of the reasons why they were regarded with disdain by the ‘serious’ music critics of their day.

Raga Dolls is one of a number of groups currently helping to revive this all but forgotten tradition, but in two important ways we may have more in common with modern day rock bands: firstly, we include a high percentage of original material in our repertoire and secondly, our name has absolutely nothing to do with the music we play!

— David Osborne

Reviews

an eclectic repertoire peculiarly suited to and evocative of long summer evenings; of surreptitious flirtations, clinking champagne flutes and tinkling laughter … arranged with ingenuity and panache.

— John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

superbly crafted and presented

— Tony Bates, 3WBC FM

Entertaining and accessible music that should appeal

— New Classics, UK

Very beautifully done … delightful … I was charmed by the arrangements and the effortlessly beautiful ensemble and tone quality.

— Gary Higginson, MusicWeb UK

Artists

Photograph of Raga Dolls

Raga Dolls

ensemble

Based in Melbourne, Raga Dolls play an unusual yet surprising coherent blend of styles all coming together loosely under the heading of 'Salon Music'.

 Photograph of Luiz Bonfá

Luiz Bonfá

composer

Luiz Bonfá wrote the melodies that still define Black Orpheus, above all Manhã de Carnaval, and forged a bold, lyrical Brazilian guitar voice that bridged samba-canção and bossa nova.

 Photograph of Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms

composer

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His music for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice remains central to the concert repertoire.

 Photograph of Pietro Mascagni

Pietro Mascagni

composer

Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana lives by melody that cuts straight to the heart. The Intermezzo and the aria Voi lo sapete carry the opera's heat in a few concentrated minutes of lyric drama.

 Photograph of Jules Massenet

Jules Massenet

composer

Jules Massenet wrote more than thirty operas and a lasting body of songs. On these discs his lyric gift appears in the hypnotic mélodies Être aimé and Amoureuse, and in the long-breathed Méditation from Thaïs for violin.

 Photograph of David Osborne

David Osborne

composer

A composer, band leader, violinist and confessed former rock guitarist, David Osborne is the driving force behind the Salon group Raga Dolls.

 Photograph of Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert

composer

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. In only thirty-one years he left a vast body of work, including over six hundred Lieder, and remains among the most frequently performed composers.

 Photograph of Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich

composer

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated of the twentieth century, whose symphonies, chamber works and piano music remain central to the repertoire.

 No photograph: Sydney Baynes

Sydney Baynes

composer

 No photograph: Don Heffington

Don Heffington

composer

 No photograph: Antônio Maria

Antônio Maria

composer

Antônio Maria wrote the lyrics that made Luiz Bonfá's Manhã de Carnaval a global standard. The song's carnival dawn of longing, later sung in English as A Day in the Life of a Fool, anchors Black Orpheus and endless jazz readings.

 No photograph: Tammy Rogers

Tammy Rogers

composer

Digital booklet

Digital booklet Notes, texts and credits — read online or download the PDF Download the PDF

Buy now

$25.00 AUD

Compact disc

Buywell Music Australian Music Centre

Stream now

Apple Music Spotify

Also available to download from the iTunes Store.

Performers

Technical credits

  • Recording Engineer David Osborne
  • Mastering Engineer Don Bartley (tracks 1–12)
    Martin Wright (tracks 13 and 14)
  • Credit Alessandro Servadei

Details

List price
$25.00 AUD
Total playing time
56 minutes 36 seconds
Release date
Categories
Australian, Classical, Cross-cultural, Folk music
Genres
Folk, World & Cross-cultural
Musical work copyright
© 2001 Raga Dolls
Sound recording copyright
℗ 2001 Move Records
Catalogue
MD 3249
EAN
9314574324921

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