Banbirrngu - The Orchestral Sessions

Before passing away in 2017, Dr G Yunupingu earned immense acclaim and crossover success under the name Gurrumul, his majestic vocals reaching a much wider audience than usual for First Nations music. Singing in native Yolngu languages, the Gumatj performer brought the storytelling traditions of Arnhem Land to the rest of the world. This collection revisits his best-loved work with new accompaniment from the Prague Metropolitan Orchestra. Arranged by Australian composer Erkki Veltheim and produced by Dr Yunupingu’s longtime collaborator Michael Hohnen, The Orchestral Sessions never once resort to overwrought flourishes. Rather, the arrangements are understated and supportive of the original songs, even when strings, brass, and woodwinds flow freely beneath the surface of “Bapa.” Dr Yunupingu’s delicate Yolngu rendering of “Amazing Grace” was a reverent showstopper before the halo of orchestration was introduced to the already warm bed of harmonizing humming, but now it offers another whole dimension of appreciation. And when the singer reflects on his extraordinary triumphs as a person who is blind on “Gurrumul History”—in a rare stretch of English lyrics—the instruments buoy his deeply personal confiding with a grace and beauty worthy of the enduring vocal performance.