Music
Matthew Flinders' father bought him a flute when he was 14, and he carried it with him on his travels. In his Private Journal he often mentions playing music with fellow detainees and with French friends during his enforced stay on Mauritius from 1803 to 1810, giving some information about the music he played. Music was an important part of his social and emotional life during this time. In 1805 he wrote the words to a song and sent them to his wife, Ann, who added more lyrics.
Flinders' story has inspired many creative works, and his words have been set to music recently by Michael Dooley ('Trim') and Gillian Dooley ('The Pelican Lagoon').
My Evening Song. Performance by Gillian Dooley with Diana Suchting (organ), at St Margaret's Church, Woodville, South Australia, 10 May 2016. Based on Flinders' manuscript sent to his wife, Ann, and another manuscript containing lyrics added by Ann, both preserved at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (FLI/25). Words by Ann and Matthew Flinders, set to a melody adapted by Matthew Flinders from the Andante of Haydn's Symphony no. 53.
The Pelican Lagoon, (sheet music) words by Matthew Flinders set to music by Gillian Dooley, 2022.
When visiting Kangaroo Island in 1802, Flinders ‘allowed himself sentimental conjectures and exclamations’ on the sight of baby pelicans climbing over the bones of their forbears. The text of ‘The Pelican Lagoon’ is collated from excerpts of the entries for 4-5 April 1802 in the fair copy of his Journal on the Investigator and in A Voyage to Terra Australis (1814).
This song was first performed in May 2022, and again at 'Colonial South Australia and Beyond: A Musical Exploration' with James Huon George (piano), Gemma Vice (flute), and Gillian Dooley (soprano) a concert in March 2023 at Urrbrae House - program notes for the concert available here. (The song is the third piece on the program, the first two being 'My Evening Song' and Michael Dooley's setting of Flinders' Epitaph for his cat Trim.)
Matthew Flinders, Musician - interview with Alan Hickey on 5AA in May 2016.
Gillian Dooley discusses Matthew Flinders' interest in music with Alan Hickey. First broadcast on Radio 5AA (Adelaide) on 5 May 2016 in the leadup to her lecture 'Matthew Flinders, Musician' for the SA History Festival.