Performed by Janelle Nadeau (solo harp)
Wren Nadeau, baby
Composed by Dorothy Chang
Directed by Sean Shaul
Filmed on June 5, 2021, at the Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Vancouver, BC (this film has not yet been premiered)
Statement from Dorothy Chang, composer:
“Harpist Janelle Nadeau and I began this collaboration with a conversation regarding the silver linings of the past pandemic year: specifically, the slowed pace of life and the strengthened bonds with our children through the additional time spent at home. I asked Janelle if there were any songs that liked to sing to her children, and one that she listed was Eva Cassidy’s cover of “Songbird”. Shelter references this song, featuring small bursts of activity that slow to stillness; in these moments of pause, fragments of the melody of “Songbird” are quoted, which in turn set off subsequent flurries of movement. The contrast between agitation and calm mirrors the emotional turbulence of the past year versus the tranquil safe spaces created for loved ones both young and old”.
Janelle Nadeau
Dorothy Chang