Song of the Whale

Written by Deantha Edmunds
For Indigenous people, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is a day to tell our stories, and for settlers, it is a time to listen, honour, and hold space.
Song of the Whale is a new work that holds deep significance to me. It is not just a nice sounding new piece of music. It is a call to action. It is an excellent example of Truth and ReconciliACTION. It is how I weave activism into my art.
My inspiration: Whales know the danger ahead of us, and they call to us to take better care of the ocean and its creatures. It is taking too long for humans to acknowledge the damage we are doing to the world’s water, and to one another.
It is my hope that the people who perform and hear this music will refuse to let what the whales are saying get lost in the ocean, and will join their song in calling for respect and reciprocity.
The final words sung in Inuktitut and English are:"nilliatiginnalugu ikKasomilautta!Carry the song on, evolve!"
Song of the Whale was commissioned by Jane Leibel, with support from MUN's Big Splash Fund, written by Deantha Edmunds. Inuktitut translation by Makkovik's Sophia Tuglavina, and arranged by Bill Brennan, who also composed the oboe/English horn solo.
The world premiere was performed by Deantha with oboeist Annie Corrigan and Holy Heart Chamber Choir led by Robert Colbourne. The work was shared in a live performance in St. John’s at the Whale Atrium at MUN's Core Science Facility, beneath the skeleton of a blue whale. That performance was captured in this video, by Roger Maunder of Up Sky Down Films, with audio engineer Stephen Lilly.