Special theme concert performed by Wongawilli
THE SOUTHERN
CROSS IS
CALLING
Wongawilli Band
To
Illawarra
Folk Club main page
To Wongawilli Colonial Dance Club main page
Further details contact:
David De Santi
ph +61 2 4257 1788
Australia.
.... So goodbye sunny Naples, my loving family too.
The Southern Cross is calling me to build a life that's new.
I'm off to see Australia, the work is plenty there
My bag is packed, I won't look back, I'll make a pile, I swear....
from The Southern is Calling by Joe Paolacci
A unique and dynamic concert of traditional and contemporary folk songs, dances and music from the experiences of the many peoples in Australia.
Performed at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (as part of Carnivale 1999), Illawarra Folk Festival, National Folk Festival, Australian Folk Festival
CONCERT CONTENT
1. Around the Boree Log (words John O'Brien aka Father Patrick Hartigan, music trad apadted by Wongawilli.) - The great Australian tradition of sitting around a campfire 'boree log' and telling stories. Performed by Wongawilli Band.
2. The New Land (Austin Durack) - A story typical of the many adventurous settlers last century to Australia. This story is about the Durack family from Ireland who ended up in the Kimberleys, Western Australia. Their story is related in Kings in Grass Castles, by Mary Durack.
3. The Drover's Boy (Ted Egan) - The fascinating story of one of the original inhabitants of Australia soon to be a feature film.
4. Sign-On Day (traditional) - There has been a huge influx of itinerant migrants to the canefields of Queensland. This song is about 'signing on' for the season. The instrumental tune used is from German settlers in the south-east of Queensland.
5. The Ballad of Yick Yung (Dennis O'Keeffe) - A story of the many people to be part of Australia's first large assembling of many cultures, the Victorian gold rush. Yick Yung was one of 16,000 Chinamen to land at Robe, South Australia, seeking his fortune.
6. Pickers Train (Neil Adam) - A train full of itinerant workers from all over the world heading off to the Riverina for the picking season.
7. The Southern Cross is Calling (Joe Paolacci) - A story of hard work and assimilation into Australian society for an Italian immigrant in Melbourne.
8. Ciao Billabong (words N. McCann/D. De Santi, music N. McCann/D.De Santi/G. Murray) - A typical story of an Illawarra Italian migrant landing in Australia in the 1950s and trying his hand at all sorts of work and setting his family up.
9. Giovanna's Deli (Kavisha Mazzella) - Many of Australia's latest culinary delights are to be found in the deli.
10. And When They Dance (Roy Abbott) - A song celebrating the universal joy of social dancing.
11. Waltzing Matilda (Banjo Paterson/Christina McPherson) - Australia's unofficial anthem taken up by all the migrants to Australia.
This concert has been presented with the BHP Youth Orchestra, SBS Radio and Television Choir and the Wongawilli Colonial Dancers at the 1999 Illawarra Folk Festival and Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (as part of 1999 Carnivale programme). There are plans for larger performances.