From Deep Sea Vents (album), 2024.
Features: Bruce Hornsby (dulcimer, vocals), Alex Sopp (flute), Hideaki Aomori (clarinet), C.J. Camerieri (trumpet), Rob Moose (violin), Nadia Sirota (viola), Gabriel Cabezas (cello)
“Lending the humour of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, the dulcimer lifting a refrain that works as a proclamation of pride”. Bruce describes this on his Facebook page as “our Sea Chantey – I was finally reading Moby-Dick (Melville was a funny guy) at the same time yMusic sent me this evocative track, a notable serendipitous confluence of events!”
From BruceHornsby.com: “Finally reading Moby-Dick, he was shocked by Herman Melville’s humor, so he lends that delight to opener “Wild Whaling Life,” his dulcimer lifting a refrain that works as a proclamation of pride.”
Context:
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick is the 1851 novel by Herman Melville, telling the story of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod,. Ahab went on a quest for vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant whale that bit off his leg on the ship’s previous voyage.
Whaling
Whaling was the hunting of whales dating back to 3000 BC in specialised “whaling ships”. A profitable industry began in 875 AD, and ceased internationally in the late 1980s as several species became almost extinct.