Blood Moon
Mihko-pîsim ᒥᐦᑯᐲᓯᒼ
Laura Pettigrew
Ensemble: Wind Ensemble
Year of Composition: 2019
Premiered by: Prairie Winds (Regina, SK)
Date of Premiere: April 28, 2019
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
With grateful acknowledgement to the Saskatchewan Arts Board; Solomon Ratt, Associate Professor at First Nations University of Canada; and FACTOR (The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings).
Program Notes:
Blood Moon (Cree: Mihko-pîsim) depicts the darkness, release, and transformation as the earth's shadow is reflected under the surface of the moon, where our shadows find a way to the light. Written for and dedicated to the Prairie Winds (Robert Mossing, director), it is my gift to honour our planet, Mother Earth, and to pay homage to Indigenous peoples who respect and understand the value of her gifts. I was astounded by the Blood Moon and although it was not visible in Saskatchewan this year, a friend, Eric Keith, a photographer in North Carolina, provided me with stunning photographs of it. This work was inspired not only by the beauty of the Blood Moon as evidenced by Eric's photographs, but also by its spirituality.
An eclipse is a time of release and transformation when we are asked to surrender what no longer serves us. As we are thrust into the shadow of the moon we are also thrust into our own shadows which aren't always pretty. Our shadows are the parts of ourselves that we often feel ashamed of; they are the darkness, the parts of our psyches that we bury in the closet. As the earth's shadow is reflected under the surface of the moon, our own shadows also find a way into the light.
(Laura Pettigrew)
