Song of the Pobblebonks (an original song for SATB a cappella) by Kirsten Duncan SSAATTBB - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1726199

Words and music by Kirsten Duncan. Contemporary choral SATB, a cappella. A4, 8 pages (including covers). Published by Shrub Creative. Item number 2025-04. ISMN 9790900969989. A quirky, upbeat original work for intermediate to advanced unaccompanied mixed choirs about the bonking song and lifecycle of Australian Pobblebonk frogs.

I was reading ‘The Thinning’, an eco thriller novel (2024) by Canberra author Inga Simpson, in which the characters hear pobblebonks by a river. In that instant, I needed to know what pobblebonks are and what sound they make, and as soon as I learned that, I jotted down lyrics for this song.

Pobblebonks are Australian frogs (Limnodynastes dumerilii) known for their distinctive call reminiscent of a plucked banjo string. Well adapted to our climate, they survive dry periods by burrowing backwards underground until rain rouses them for their musical mating chorus.

Stylistically, this original work for unaccompanied mixed voices (SATB divisi) has a “wacky carnival vibe, like there’s an organ grinder with a circus of dancing frogs who can’t decide whether to waltz or quickstep!” It draws inspiration from Joseph Twist’s ‘Magpie’ from ‘Timeless Land: An Australian Song Cycle’ (2021) and The Cat Empire’s ‘Wine Song’, with an off-kilter, percussive refrain and chromatic twists. The 8/8 meter should have a strong 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2 feel throughout. Liberally sprinkled with tongue-twisting alliteration, the text tells the story of the frogs’ lifecycle, interspersed with increasingly frenzied ‘bok bok’ choruses. This up-tempo, quirky ‘banjo bonking song’ would provide energetic light relief in any animal/nature/water/spring-themed or family concert program.

I dedicate this choral work to the Ginninderra Catchment Group for their FrogWatch program, just one of hundreds of organisations in which ordinary Australians generously volunteer to care and advocate for our natural environment.

Kirsten Duncan has had a lifelong passion for choral singing. Now based in Canberra, Australia, she has performed with Gaudeamus (Judith Clingan), Hamburg International School (ISH) Singers, the choirs of Christ Church St Laurence Sydney (Dr Neil McEwan), The Resonants (Helen Swan) and others. Kirsten started composing choral music in 2015 with a penchant for narrative a cappella works often with a quirky Australian flavour, contributing to the musical community that has been a stabilising thread throughout her life.

Please register performances or recordings of this work with the appropriate performing rights body, and also visit shrubcreative.com.au to notify the composer and find more works by Kirsten Duncan. Thank you, and enjoy the music!

Copyright © 2025 KIRSTEN DUNCAN. All rights reserved. A catalogue record for this work is available from the National Library of Australia.