About this performance

Program
Deborah Cheetham Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace – world premiere

Featuring
Deborah Cheetham AO soprano (Yorta Yorta)
Linda Barcan mezzo soprano
Don Bemrose baritone (Gungarri)
MSO Chorus
Dhungala Children’s Choir
Gary Lang choreography (Larrakia)

Featuring Masters students from Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and young talent from Melbourne Youth Orchestras.

The concert
“One day I hope to walk on that country and feel no restless spirit – just the strength of two thousand generations of lives lived and culture sustained.”

Southwest of Melbourne lies a battleground, haunted with the memory of war and loss. The scars of the the Eumeralla Resistance War (1840 – 1863) lie heavily upon the country.

“I first walked on this battlefield in 2013. The voices of those lost were so loud that it woke something in me and my immediate response was music. A song. A Requiem. A War Requiem, named in honour of one of the most brutal resistance wars fought on this continent.”

Eumeralla, a War Requiem for Peace brings into focus a period of Australia’s history that is yet to be fully understood. Written and composed by acclaimed Yorta Yorta soprano, composer and Artistic Director of Short Black Opera, Deborah Cheetham AO, this requiem for peace, will be sung entirely in the ancient dialects of the Gunditjmara people.

“It is my hope that this requiem will help the spirits of those who fell to find a lasting peace and that we, their descendants, might find our way to deeper understanding of the legacy of these battles.”

Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace will break the silence of so many decades and serve to amplify the importance of our nation’s shared history.” – Deborah Cheetham AO

In 2019 we celebrate the United Nation’s International Year of Indigenous Languages, and the 10th birthday of the Dhungala Children’s Choir.

Running time
This piece is 65 minutes in length.

Pictured: Deborah Cheetham | Image credit: Simon Schluter

Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace has been made possible with the help of Gunditjmara language custodian Vicki Couzens and linguist Kris Eira. Presented in collaboration with Short Black Opera.