MAIDEN VOYAGE
An Australian Song Cycle

It is time the work of ordinary women alongside some of our most exceptional women is recognised for its essential value to our society.

Maiden Voyage gives credit to the extraordinary women who have contributed so much to the history and wealth of Australia. Mary Penfold, the "mother of Australian wine", does not rate an entry under her own name in the Dictionary of Australian Biography, yet she planted the first vines and made the wine. Louisa Lawson, writer, publisher and advocate for female suffrage, is forgotten while her son Henry is lauded.

Maiden Voyage is a cycle of 13 songs written by Melbourne composer Lorraine Milne. The lyrics trace the experiences and achievements of ordinary and extraordinary Australian women in historical and contemporary settings. The music reflects Lorraine’s background as a classically trained musician overlaid with her deep love of Jazz and experience as a theatre composer.
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The stories woven through Maiden Voyage embrace the forming of Australia as an island continent, convicts and prostitutes, free settlers, currency born, the fight for female suffrage, English migration between the two world wars, survival in the outback, the cultural drain, the Vietnam war, GDP and what is valued. It concludes with a celebration of the legacy given to us from these extraordinary women, many of whom were not recognised in their lifetimes for their achievements.

Resources for choirs and secondary students

“Spotlighting the experiences and achievements of ordinary and extraordinary Australian women in historical and contemporary settings”

Samples from the Music CD: Maiden Voyage which contains 13 tracks about ordinary and extraordinary women in Australian history.

SHIFTING SOUTH​

Molten red explosion,
Wrenching crust, upward thrust,
Wind and fire collusion,
Heaving earth giving birth.

DAMNED ONCE

What cost the price of this woman damned?
Then damned again,
At the mercy of convicted men

QUIET COURAGE

Listen to a story of courage and strength,
Of women in a distant and hostile land.
Sail the oceans ever southward,
To anchor in crystal clear waters
With a fringe of un-spoilt sand.

CD   

MAIDEN VOYAGE 
An Australian Song Cycle

Maiden Voyage is a song cycle about the achievements of Australian women, both general and specific, throughout the history of white settlement. Women such as Louisa Lawson (Henry's mother) and Mary Penfold (the "mother" of Australian wine) are included along with Good Old Mum and Birthday Ballot, a song about the Vietnam War. Musically, the harmonic language is modern tonalism incorporating jazz elements as well.

1.  Shifting South (Scratch)
2.  Damned Once (Rachel Tidd)
3.  Quiet Courage (Grace Note Singers)
4.  Thank ‘em for Aussie Wine (songrise)
5.  Oh Louisa (Grace Note Singers)
6.  A Woman in the House (Rachel Tidd)
7. Australian Air (Majellan Singers)
8.  A Matter of Survival (Songrise)
9.  A Woman Is Not the Right Man (Rachel Tidd)
10.  Who Cares! (Songrise)
11.  Birthday Ballot (Rachel Tidd)
12.  No Value (Scratch)
13.   In the End (Rachel Tidd and Grace Note Singers)

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There are two versions of the Maiden Voyage score available from the Australian Music Centre.
The original, published in 1997, is scored for two female voices (mezzo-soprano and alto) with piano accompaniment. 
​In 2013, the songs were rearranged for three-part female choir and soloist with piano accompaniment. It is this version that is recorded on the Maiden Voyage CD. It is also the version detailed in the accompanying Music Resource Kit written by Julie Montague.

Score for mezzo-soprano, 3-part female choir, and piano

MAIDEN VOYAGE 

Year: 1997, this version: 2013
Instrumentation: Mezzo-soprano, 3-part female choir, piano.
Duration: 34 min.
Difficulty: Advanced

1. Shifting South
2. Damned Once (solo)
3. Quiet Courage
4. Thank ‘em for Aussie Wine
5. Oh Louisa
6. A Woman in the House (solo) 
7. Australian Air
8. A Matter of Survival
9. A Woman Is Not the Right Man (solo)
10. Who Cares!
11. Birthday Ballot (solo)
12. No Value
13. In the End.
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Purchase from the Australian Music Centre

Score for duos: mezzo-soprano and alto with piano

MAIDEN VOYAGE 

Year: 1997
Instrumentation: Mezzo-soprano, alto, piano. The cycle can be sung by a single female voice (mezzo soprano) with piano accompaniment.
Duration: 40 min.
Difficulty: Medium — Amateur or professional.

1. Shifting South
2. Damned Once 
3. Quiet Courage
4. Thank ‘em for Aussie Wine
5. Oh Louisa
6. A Woman in the House 
7. Australian Air
8. A Matter of Survival
9. A Woman Is Not the Right Man 
10. Who Cares!
11. Birthday Ballot 
12. No Value
13. In the End

Purchase from the Australian Music Centre

Music Resource Kit

MAIDEN VOYAGE 

​This resource kit is the result of a collaboration between the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, UNESCO Arts Education Observatory and the Australian Society for Music Education.

​Written for secondary students, the intention of the guide is to explore the creative process of musical composition by:

• tracing the narrative of this song cycle
• exploring the musical setting of the stories
• observing the stylistic characteristics in this contemporary song cycle
• recognising compositional devices employed in the song cycle.

Published by and available from the Australian Music Centre, the Maiden Voyage kit is accompanied by a CD and a digital pdf score.

Purchase from the Australian Music Centre