Melissa Dunphy

Waves of Gallipoli

Commissioned by the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus and premiered October 6, 2019, at Masonic Prince Hall, St. Louis, Missouri, Artistic Director Philip Barnes. The peninsula at Gallipoli in Turkey is now marked with cemeteries; particularly striking are the graves of Australian and New Zealand infantry, which are marked with epitaphs provided by the families of the fallen. Five of these epitaphs have been included in the text for Waves of Gallipoli, along with lines from poet Leon Gellert, a Gallipoli veteran. In the music we can hear the undulating of the Aegean Sea lapping the coastline of Gallipoli, sad melismas complement the idea of moaning; following the epitaphs, a single voice sounds the bugle call, The Last Post, which is sounded at ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corp) Day dawn services each year, memorializing the soldiers who fell at Gallipoli.