Yo-Yo Ma brings haunting Mi'kmaw anthem to new audience
CBC
Elder George Paul of Metepenagiag knew right away that Honour Song would speak to his people.
"I knew it would be important for my people, the Mi'kmaq people, because the song is in the Mi'kmaw language [and] addresses that part of our history," Paul said.
But he never imagined its appeal would grow and broaden over the decades, catching the attention of singers, musicians and orchestras across the country and beyond.
And he certainly never imagined a version of it would be featured on an album by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
"It's taken off now … this is a new music area," Paul said in an interview. "I didn't realize it would go this far."
Ma's album, Notes for the Future, brings together artists from five continents across nine tracks, including a version of Honour Song by Tobique First Nation operatic tenor Jeremy Dutcher, who had previously released his reimagining of the song in 2017.
The songs on the album were chosen for their ability to capture "the full range of human emotion," Ma's website states, with Honour Song chosen for its power to "invoke our collective responsibility to care for the planet we share."