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.
Shannon Birchall double bass
George Butrumlis piano accordion
Gary Norman banjo
David Osborne violin, steel string guitar
James Sherlock nylon string guitar
Caroline Craig vocals
Tammy Rogers composer
Don Heffington composer
Luiz Bonfá composer
Antônio Maria composer
Sydney Baynes composer
Dmitri Shostakovich composer
Pietro Mascagni composer
Franz Schubert composer
Johannes Brahms composer
Jules Massenet composer
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 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!
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.
superbly crafted and presented
Entertaining and accessible music that should appeal
Very beautifully done … delightful … I was charmed by the arrangements and the effortlessly beautiful ensemble and tone quality.
Artist
Raga Dolls
Based in Melbourne, Raga Dolls play an unusual yet surprising coherent blend of styles all coming together loosely under the heading of 'Salon Music'.
Audio previews
Tracks
- A Waltz David Osborne 2:45
- At the Nest Tammy Rogers Don Heffington 3:11
- Black Orpheus Luiz Bonfá Antônio Maria 4:23
- Still Life David Osborne 3:48
- Destiny Sydney Baynes 7:06
- The Gadfly Romance Dmitri Shostakovich 2:45
- Left at Carlisle David Osborne 5:14
- Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo Pietro Mascagni 2:58
- Tango David Osborne 4:00
- Ständchen Franz Schubert 3:45
- Hungarian Dance no. 5 Johannes Brahms 3:35
- Méditation from Thaïs Jules Massenet 5:38
- Du bist die Ruh Franz Schubert 3:50
- Another Tango David Osborne 3:38
Performers
- Raga Dolls
- David Osborne · violin, steel string guitar
- George Butrumlis · piano accordion
- Gary Norman
- Shannon Birchall
- James Sherlock · nylon string guitar
- Caroline Craig · track 13
Composers
Luiz Bonfá
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.
Johannes Brahms
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.
Pietro Mascagni
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.
Jules Massenet
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.
David Osborne
A composer, band leader, violinist and confessed former rock guitarist, David Osborne is the driving force behind the Salon group Raga Dolls.
Franz Schubert
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.
Dmitri Shostakovich
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.
Antônio Maria
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.
Contributors
Desktop publishing
Alessandro Servadei
Alessandro Servadei is a graphic designer and recording engineer whose booklet design, layout and studio work appear across many Move Records releases.
Where to listen
Wordless Meanings is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
Wordless Meanings is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- MD 3249
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 56 minutes 36 seconds
- Recording Engineer
- David Osborne
- Mastering Engineer
- Don Bartley (tracks 1–12)
Martin Wright (tracks 13 and 14) - Credit
- Alessandro Servadei
- Release date
- 2001
- Musical work
copyright - © 2001 Raga Dolls
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 2001 Move Records
- Categories
- Australian, Classical, Cross-cultural, Folk music
- Genres
- Folk, World & Cross-cultural
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574324921