written for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
as part of the ‘22–’23 Australian Composers’ School

Whalesong is remarkably sophisticated. Its patterns of repetition and variation mirror structures found in human music; its geographical diversity suggests distinct, yet overlapping, dialects and cultures; it exhibits hallmarks of language, including grammar and syntax––we just don’t understand what whales are saying (yet).

cetacean songs is a meditation on the complex beauty of marine mammal vocalisations, and in extension, a meditation on how vast our oceans are, and how little we know about these underwater worlds and their inhabitants.

Instrumentation: 2/picc.2.2/bcl.2
4.2.2.1 timp+1 hp
solo vc str

- or -

1/picc.1.1.1 1.1 perc
solo vc str

Duration: ca. 16’