Beannaicht an Long: Blest Be the Boat

The text for this piece comprises part of the medieval hymn "Ave Maris Stella", and two Gaelic prayers for safety at sea. These are taken from "Carmina Gadelica", Alexander Carmichael's collection of folk poetry from the Western Isles of Scotland, published in 1900. A voyage at sea has long standing as a metaphor for life, both individual and communal, and this gives these prayers a wider resonance. The music draws from the Ave Maris Stella plainchant, Scottish melodies (bagpipe pibroch themes and a Christmas carol), and the calls of a number of seabirds common to Scotland, North America and Australia, musically transliterated. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by the WA Commissioning Circle.