Vue de l’aigle for Horn and Piano, no. 450 (2018)
Composed by Andrián Pertout

Performance at the Melbourne Composers’ League ‘Song of the Eagle: New Chamber Music from Australia and Albania’ Concert
Sunday, 17 July, 2022, Carlton Church of All Nations, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia
Carla Blackwood – French horn; Danaë Killian – pianoforte

‘Vue de l’aigle’ or ‘View of the Eagle’ was especially composed for Ilir Kodhima (Tirana, Albania), and is dedicated to Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, and author Julian Burnside AO QC. Julian, with his progressive visionary perspective has for many years now not only been a supporter of all that is benevolent in the world, but as notable philanthropist has for over a decade also been a supporter of a considerable amount of this composer’s output. A simple opening statement is therefore inadequate to highlight the importance of his noble cause (as philanthropist) and moral conviction (as activist), which has now destined the man to be remembered as a great inspirational force that has eminently nourished not only the individual artist and the legacy of Australian art, but also humanity as a whole. The title of the work is in reference to the ‘field of vision’ of the eagle – the large bird of prey (of the family Accipitridae) with an “eye among the strongest in the animal kingdom” and an “eyesight estimated at four to eight times stronger than that of the average human.” The eagle is of course the symbol of Albania, and the Albanian tale ‘Eagle dhe Mbreti,’ or ‘The Eagle and the King’ tells the story of a young boy, who after saving an eaglet from a snake (killing the snake with his bow and arrow in a hunting trip) takes the young bird as his prize, to be then stopped in his tracks by the mother eagle who promises the boy that in exchange for her child, she will reward the boy with the “sharpness of her eyes and the powerful strength of her wings.” Born is the legend of Shqipëtar, or ‘Son of the Eagle’ and the kingdom of ‘Shqipëria,’ or ‘Land of the Eagles.’ The boy (watched and guided by the eaglet, which in time grows into a ‘great eagle’), grows into a great warrior, and is consequently elected by the people as ‘King’ for his strength and bravery. The Albanian national flag today features a “red field (background) with a black two-headed eagle in its centre,” which represent strength and valor, as well as the sovereign state of Albania respectively.

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