[10] Film director Spike Lee commissioned New Orleans native Terence Blanchard to compose the score for his 2006 four-hour HBO documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, to show the agony of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"[5] Larry Blumenfeld of Entertainment Weekly commented "Accompanied by an orchestra, Blanchard’s quintet moves elegantly from African rhythms to modern swing to balladic repose, his horn’s curled pleas and soaring declarations channeling both pain and resilience.

[3] John Swenson of OffBeat added "A Tale of God’s Will is an expansion of the music Blanchard and his band made for the Lee documentary, and it moves with the epic scope of the flood itself".

[14] A reviewer of Reuters noted "What started as a gig scoring Spike Lee’s HBO documentary “When the Levees Broke” has been imaginatively expanded by trumpeter Terence Blanchard into this epic-length, orchestral-string masterwork.

Four “Levees” numbers are in the mix, with revitalized arrangements, including the prodding, ominous “The Water” and the painfully anguished “Funeral Dirge.” Of particular note are three impromptu short “ghost” pieces, as well as originals by Blanchard’s band members, highlighted by pianist Aaron Park’s lyrical gem “Ashe” and saxophonist Brice Winston’s heart-rending “In Time of Need.”[15] Chris May of All About Jazz wrote "Blanchard's no-frills, in-the-tradition, testifying trumpet, which is the main solo voice, rings out powerfully and affectingly throughout.