BY DEBORAH CHEETHAM AO
In this blog, Yorta Yorta composer, soprano, and Short Black Opera artistic director Deborah Cheetham AO writes about the creation of her new work, Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace. The composition will be sung in the ancient dialects of the Gunditjmara people, and its on-country premiere will be performed at the Port Fairy Spring Festival on Sunday October 14.
Just a little over four hours’ drive from Melbourne, there is a battlefield haunted with the memory of war and loss of life.
When you walk on this land, you are surrounded by restless warrior-spirits. It is a powerful feeling, and a fearful one. It is inescapable.
The name Eumeralla is unlikely to be among the theatres of war that you could name.
The history of battles fought and the lives that were lost is almost unknown to anyone outside the Aboriginal community. It is more than 170 years since the last shots rang out in the country of the Gunditjmara, but the land is not silent. The voices of those who lost their lives in defence of their country ring in your ears when you stand amongst the lava flow of south west country of Victoria.
Unlike other theatres of war, such as ANZAC Cove and the Somme, where peace was declared and relationships restored with the Turkish and Germans, no such peace was declared in the resistance wars; no such restoration.
Whilst the Gunditjmara uphold the memory of their warriors slain, most Australians have been denied access to this history and denied resolution – and so the land remains haunted.
I first walked on this battlefield in 2013. I felt it right away. I was moved and I was disturbed.
Given the chance to camp on that land, I could not sleep or find rest. The voices of those lost were so loud I couldn’t stay for more than one night. It woke something in me and my immediate response was music. A song. A requiem.
A war requiem.
It is called Eumeralla, and named in honour of one of the most brutal resistance wars fought on this continent. It will be sung entirely in the language of the Gunditjmara people, and it is designed for non-Indigenous Australians to sing alongside Indigenous brothers and sisters.
We need a way to ease the troubled spirit of the battlefields of the Eumeralla. It is my hope that this song, this war requiem, will help the spirits of those who fell – those who resisted and their aggressors – to find a lasting peace. And that we, their descendants, might find our way to deeper understanding of the legacy of these battles; for you, for me, for all who were lost in a war Australia has yet to find a way to talk about.
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.
One day, I hope to walk on that country and feel no restless spirit – just the strength of 2000 generations of lives lived and culture sustained.
See Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace at the Port Fairy Spring Festival, October 14.
The event will feature the Consort of Melbourne, Dhungala Children’s Choir, mezzo soprano Linda Barca, Gunggari baritone Don Bemrose, the Plexus ensemble, and Yorta Yorta soprano Deborah Cheetham AO herself. It will be led by conductor Dr David Kram with art design from Thomas Day (Gundijtmara) and choreography by Gary Lang (Larrikia)
Deborah Cheetham AO created English text, which was translated into the Dhuawurd Wurrung and related dialects by Gunditjmara language custodian Vicki Couzens and Victorian-based linguist Kris Eira.
CutCommon would also like to congratulate Deborah Cheetham in her newly announced achievement as recipient of the 2019 Merlyn Myer Music Commission, with the Melbourne Recital Centre and Syzygy Ensemble.
Image supplied. Credit: WayneQuilliam.
