Hatfield, Stephen: Chant for a long day

Chant for a Long Day is inspired by two monophonic chants for women, the Mersiyét from Pakistan, and the “waulking songs” from the island of Barra in the Hebrides. The text is a depiction of perserverance and longevity, a life force out of the distant and unknowable past, balanced for a moment in the present, and then heading for a distand and unknowable future. The words evoke images of physical and spiritual survival common to many cultures, as well as the images of femininity and womanhood that are also shared by peoples from around the world.