Song for Laika

​An elegy in memory of all those who have lost their lives in space.

Piano solo (there is also a saxophone + piano version)

Duration c. 6 mins

Commissioned by Wirral Poetry Festival.

Programme note

Laika was a stray dog, taken off the streets by the Soviet space programme, and trained to go into space. On the night before her launch in Sputnik 2, one of the scientists who had worked with her went to say goodbye - knowing she'd never survive - and asked for her forgiveness. These poems and the musical piece that follows are in memory of Laika, and all who have lost their lives in space, or on the way there.