Classic Live: Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace

"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," describes composer, soprano and Yorta Yorta/Yuin woman Deborah Cheetham Fraillon.

"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."

Cheetham Fraillon's Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace tells the little-known story of the Eumeralla Resistance Wars, around 1840 – 1863.

South west of Melbourne on Gunditjmara Country, around the Eumeralla River between Port Fairy and Portland, violent clashes over land possession took place between British colonialists and the Gunditjmara people.

In 2013 Cheetham Fraillon met senior elder Uncle Ken Saunders and heard the story of The Convincing Ground Massacre, part of the Eumeralla Wars, where many local Gunditjmara people were shot and killed. Those who weren't were forced inland where the waterholes had been poisoned. She walked on the grounds of the battlefield and felt the horror of what had happened there.

Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace, was written to tell the story and commemorate these people. Cheetham Fraillon has stated her desire that this Requiem might to help the spirits of those who were lost to find peace. It's a story of Australia's dark past, but it's also a story of resilience and reconciliation.

Recorded live in concert at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, Narrm, on October 14, 2023 by ABC Classic. Presenter Stéphanie Kabanyana-Kanyandekwe. Executive Producer Amy Bennett. Producer Jennifer Mills. Engineers Alex Stinson, Jack Montgomery-Parkes.

Program

Deborah Cheetham Fraillon: Long Time Living Here (full orchestral version)
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon: Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace

Artists

Deborah Cheetham Fraillon (soprano)
Linda Barcan (mezzo-soprano)
Jud Arthur (baritone)
The Consort of Melbourne
Dhungala Children's Choir
Choir of St Paul's Cathedral
MSO Chorus
Warren Trevelyan-Jones (chorus director)
Steven Hodgson (artistic director, The Consort of Melbourne)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Benjamin Northey (conductor)

Find out more

Read the MSO program