| Page: M 31 |
|
WHALE SONG |
An Oratorio for Children
Music by ANDREW PEGGIE
Lyrics by STEPHEN CLARK
| Cast: | 4 principals + two choruses |
| Suggested Age Range: | 8 to 15 |
| Approx. Running Time: | 35 minutes |
| Music: | Piano accompaniment throughout, best enhanced by bass or bass guitar; alternatively a synthesizer may be used. Essential parts for four percussion players (mostly Latin American or Orff-type). Parts are also available for 2 recorders, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 violins, 'cello and electronic keyboard. |
| Set: | .Minimal. Can be performed as a concert piece or staged using lighting effects or with an Arctic backdrop. |
| Synopsis: | Alaska, October 1988.
A trio of grey whales are trapped within a small patch of coastal sea which is
rapidly freezing over. Local people try to cut a passage through the ice but
their resources cannot cope. American forces are drafted in to help - and with
them come news reporters and TV cameras. The race against time becomes serious and, in a rare example of East-West collaboration, a Soviet ice-breaker joins the struggle. The smallest whale disappears before the completion of a passage - which then freezes over again before the others have reached the end. The assumption is that they find open sea but no-one can ever be sure. WHALE SONG recounts this remarkable true story as a musical parable of the benefits of co-operation and trust. |
|
Price Codes: |
||
| Chorus Part: | Code A | |
| Piano / Vocal Score: | Code G | |
|
Band Parts - please enquire |
||
| Rehearsal Cassette: | Code F | |
| Past Performance Cassette: | Code E | |
| Performance Rights: | Code Y | |
ISBN 978 1 872475 65 3
|
|
|