Parandegaane Mohaajer (Migrating Birds)

SSAA Choir, Mezzo Soprano Solo, Violin, 10' (2023)

Commissioned by and written for Negar Afazel as part of “Woman, Life, Freedom.” This work is dedicated to valorous Iranian women, for their ineffable resistance and fight for freedom.

I am honored to set the words of poet Jaleh Estafani in this piece. Her poems “Migrating Birds” and “Latitude of Migration” paint a vivid picture of displacement from one’s homeland. I set “Migrating Birds in its entirety, alongside lines from “Latitude of Migration” which speak of the “gradual discoloration of identity.” I used the lines from this poem largely in whispers and repeated syllables, to create the effect of bird wings. The choir, the violin, and the mezzo soprano solo are often singing or playing common melodic themes, and yet are often disconnected from each other in colorful harmonies.

Perusal score available here.