Vanishing Whispers

Soprano and piano

Vanishing Whispers was commissioned by Melissa Holm-Johansen for her performance with pianist Carson Rose Schneider at the 2024 Minneapolis SongSlam (where it took fourth place!).

If the performers would like, they can have audience members open up their handheld devices and go to joshuashank.com/animals to follow along with the words and see pictures of the animals in the song.

The Text

By the composer, based on a list published by the World Wildlife Fund

Hawksbill Turtle; ancient mariner; guardian of the reefs in nearly every oceans.

Amur Leopard; the wild spirit of Siberian forests; fading from the frozen east.

Saola; mystical presence; a living myth of Vietnam’s shrouded highlands.

Western Lowland Gorilla; gentle giant; monarch of the Congo’s dense undergrowth.
Eastern Lowland Gorilla; tranquil clans of kindred souls; home torn for minerals serving technology’s bright lights.
Cross River Gorilla; sacred guardian of Cameroon’s forests; just 25 souls remain.

Sumatran Rhino; a voice that carries, deep and strong; weaver of tales with verdant strands.[1]
Sumatran Tiger; apex predator; stripéd symbol of wilderness and majesty.
Sumatran Elephant; cultural icon of might; colossal nomad of the shrinking wilderness.
Sumatran Orangutan; arboreal heart of the island; facing the twilight of its realm.
Bornean Orangutan; the wise old one of the jungle; contemplating the vanishing tropics.

Tapanuli Orangutan; philosopher kin; elder of the forested realms.

African forest elephant; sovereign of the silent grove; icon of ancestral memory.

Vaquita; fragile wraith of the gulf; entangled in nets not meant for them.

Yangtze Finless Porpoise; the joyful “river piglet”; casualty of the currents of humanity’s progress.

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[1] In reference to how the Sumatran Rhino is the most vocal of all rhinoceros species as well as its practice of communicating by twisting tree saplings into patterns.

Performed by Melissa Holm-Johansen (soprano) and Carson Rose Schneider (piano).