Under Hard Light - Piano and Recorded Media

Inspiration for Under Hard Light came after a visit to Palestine in August 2017, with artists collective VOICES 21C. We gave a workshop and performed for the Amwaj Choir, consisting of grade school students from both Hebron and Bethlehem. Members of VOICES 21C keep in contact with the choir members, and one of them, Mohammad Nemer, often sends me audio clips of his singing through facebook messenger.

After a point I started to improvise around the messages, one of them in particular for weeks and weeks. The message that stuck with me the most was a verse of A Huwa da illi saar, essentially an Egyptian patriotic song sung in the 1920’s when the British were in control over a large part of the Middle East.

How can you blame me, oh our master?
When the riches of our country are not even in our hands?
Speak of things that would benefit us
and then come back to blaming me

Mohammad and I decided to collaborate on a piano piece with his audio message as fixed media, called Under Hard Light, where his performance of the verse is harmonized in several different meters and tonalities. Another verse sung in A Huwa da illi saar inspired us throughout the compositional process, which speaks to resilience of all people in the face of corrupt power, worldwide:

And instead of allowing an envious hater to be happy at our expense,
Put your hand in mine
Get up and let’s fight
Then we would all become one hand
and the hands would become strong.

Audio Recording: Mohammad Nemer 
Translation/Context: Yazeed Khamis