The Whale is an allegorical poem in Old English, concerning the potential for the reader to unwittingly fall into sin. Read literally, it concerns the mistaking of a whale, by sailors, for an island. The fragments of the poem in my version focus on the whale’s treatment; on the indignity of having a tent pitched on one’s back and then being set on fire, before finally protesting. Musically, this piece also focuses on what cannot be seen: the part of the whale that is there, but under the water; the places that are known to the whale but are unknown to the reader or listener. The materials for the piece comprise a graphic score outlining the structure and text of the piece, and images that are derived from medieval manuscripts that depict whales, as well as a set of recorded fragments that are made entirely from my reading and speaking the fragments of the poem that appear in the score and the performance. In preparing this version of the piece I also created notated fragments that the musicians may choose to consult in their interpretation: these also reflect an act of listening to the whale underwater in their register and character. The piece should not be considered a setting of the text of The Whale, but rather a reflection on its materials as the sailors might reflect on the image of the whale under the water.

vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/433273787
password: thewhale2020
(please don't make this live yet)

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/28344