2025

Soprano voice and Piano

~5:30 minutes

Text by Fady Joudah

Written for all suffering

Free Palestine

program notes:

The Palestinian Sunbird is the national bird of Palestine and has a truly distinct call.

The sound of the bird and it’s call is heard throughout the piece as call and response between the vocalist and the pianist.

The text by Fady Joudah, see the end of the program notes, speaks to themes of freedom, space, and beauty.

As the piece progresses, the listless opening material becomes more and more grounded until the lyrical melody becomes insistent and chant-like.

I flit

from gleaming river

to glistening sea,

from all that we

to all that me,

fresh east to salty west,

southern sweet,

and northern free

there is a lake

between us,

and aquifers

for cactus

and basins

of anemone

from the river

to the sea,

from womb

to breath and one

with oneness

I be,

from the river

to the sea.