Program: Salam-Shalom Echoes of Home

Salam-Shalom: Echoes of Home

Program List

Nani, Nani #7

Music: Manuel Garcia Morante

A collection of traditional Sephardic songs, carefully preserved and arranged by Manuel Garcia for piano and voice. These pieces offer a rare glimpse into the vibrant and often undocumented musical heritage of the Sephardic Jewish diaspora.

Nani, nani, nani,

that the son of the mother,

even while young will do great things.

Ay, ay, sleep, my soul,

sleep, my life,

that your father comes

with much happiness.

Ay, open the door to me,

open it, my madame,

that I come very tired from ploughing the fields.

Oh, I will open the door to you,

since you are so tired,

and will see the sleeping boy in the cradle.

Ukolebavka 

Music and Lyrics: Ilse Weber

Ilse Weber, a Jewish composer interned in the Terezín (Theresienstadt) ghetto during the Holocaust, wrote and performed songs to comfort children in the camp’s hospital. Weber was murdered in the Holocaust.

Come on, come on, little one

The sun has been sleeping for a long time,

The birds don’t sing anymore,

The moon looks down from the sky

It’s all holy

Hush, quiet.

Morena me llama #16

Music: Manuel Garcia Morante

People call me the dark-skinned girl

People call me the dark-skinned girl,

I was born white.

From strolling, charming one, I lost my color.

Tell me, charming one, can you come with me

The veil is wound too tightly

I cannot come with you

He calls me dark one

The king’s son

If he calls again, I will go with him

Ukolebavka 

Music: Gideon Klein

Lyrics: Shalom Charitonov, Hebrew words by Emmanuel Harussi

Gideon Klein was a Czech-Jewish composer, pianist, educator, and organizer of cultural life in Theresienstadt, where he was interned during WWII. Klein was murdered in the Holocaust.

Lie down, my son, comfortably relax,

Don’t cry bitterly.

Next to you, your mother is sitting

Guarding you from evil.

Howling in the forest, little fox,

the wind is blowing there.

Lie down, my son, comfortably relax,

Sound asleep there.

Evening shadows

Will fly very quickly

We are not allowed to be lazy,

For tomorrow we must labour

Tomorrow I will work in the wheatfields,

Innocently will father go,

But you, my little boy,

Go to sleep

Adio querida # 39

Music: Manuel, Garcia Morante

Farewell, my love

Your mother when she gave you birth

And brought you into the world

She did not give you a heart

To love another

Farewell, farewell my love

I do not want life

You have embittered it for me

Go look for another love

Knock on other doors

Wait for another flame

As for me, you are dead

Atargis

from Mermaids Who Sing

Music and words: Felix Jarrar

Contemporary Palestinian and Sri-Lankan-American composer Felix Jarrar explores the shared folklore of mermaid legends from different communities. Drawing inspiration from Syrian, Lebanese, and Hebrew traditions, his music reimagines these mythical sirens, weaving together their tales of mystery, longing, and the power of the sea.

I am your queen

Worshipped by the town of scallions.

Look at the fish in the water,

Worship them,

And worship me!

Follow my lead,

Dive in!

Go for a swim,

To see mermaids,

In the deep blue sea.

Worship them,

And worship me!

Rashi’s Vision

from Mermaids Who Sing

Music: Felix Jarrar

I thought it was a dolphin at first,

But it was not.

These marine animals… were… half human, half fish.

Sirens! I’ve seen sirens!

That were mentioned in scripture not,

Witness my rabbinic revelation,

From scholarly thought.

I see mermaids…

They are not too dissimilar from us.

Mi lo yeshalach

Music: Hana Ajiashvili 

Lyrics: Shmuel Hanagid

Who does not mourn

On farewell day

On his face

Flood will be sent of eye disease

If you, with a cruel will behavior to me

With all your passion

My answer, as kind to you as you will be tough to me,

That feeling that judges and forbade to my eyes to sleep,

And doesn’t forbade spilled blood from my eyes

Think from your eyes (like heart) because in justice

You’ll judge and over thinker can be mistaken in his rational reasoning

Kun li guitarati wataran

Mahmoud Darwish Poetry 

Translation: Clarissa Burt from Eleven Planets in the Last Andalusian Sky

Be a string, water, to my guitar,

Conquerors come, conquerors go…

It’s getting hard to remember my face in the mirrors.

Be memory for me so I can see what I’ve lost.

Who am I after these paths of exodus?

I own a boulder that bears my name

On a tall bluff overlooking what has come to an end.

Seven hundred years escort me beyond the city walls.

Time turns around in vain to save my past from a moment

that gives birth to the history of my exile in others and in myself.

Be a string, water, to my guitar.

Conquerors come, conquerors go…

Heading south as nations decompose on the compost of change.

I know who I was yesterday,

But who will I be tomorrow under the Atlantic flags of Columbus?

Be a string to my guitar, water, be a string.

There is no Egypt in Egypt, no Fez in Fez, and Syria is too far away.

No hawk on the flag of my people,

No river running east of a palm tree besieged by the Mongols’ swift horses.

In which Andalusia did I meet my end? Here, in this place?

Or there? I know I’ve died, leaving behind what is

Best of what is mine in this place: my past.

I’ve got nothing left but my guitar. Be a string, water, to my guitar.

Conquerors come, conquerors go.

Ya annah emza’cha

from Ayre 

Poet: Yehudah Halevy

Music: Osvaldo Golijov

Ayre is a dynamic work blending Hebrew and Arabic poetry, seamlessly intertwining ancient Sephardic traditions with modern compositions. It features a Hebrew prayer alongside the evocative poetry of Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish, whose words explore themes of exile, displacement, and the search for belonging.

(in Hebrew)

Oh, where shall I find You?

Your place is high and hidden.

And where shall I not find You?

Your glory fills the World. I have sought Your nearness.

I called upon You with all my heart. And in going out to meet You

I found You coming toward me.

(In Arabic)

There is no Egypt in Egypt, no Fez in Fez, and Syria is too far away.

No hawk on the flag of my people,

No river running east of a palm tree besieged by the Mongols’ swift horses.

In which Andalusia did I meet my end? Here, in this place?

Or there? I know I’ve died, leaving behind what is

Best of what is mine in this place: my past.

I’ve got nothing left but my guitar. Be a string, water, to my guitar.

Karussell

Music: Martin Roman

A satirical and biting cabaret song from WWII-era Germany, Karussell expresses a yearning for change. Its lively, almost joyful melody contrasts with lyrics that critique the dizzying chaos of the world, suggesting that only when the “carousel” finally stops will people see reality clearly and understand the way forward.

In the years long, long ago

When we were small children

We had one ideal.

If they wanted silence in the house

Or could we choose a gift as a reward,

All the children shouted quickly;

Merry-go round, oh please, please, merry-go-round!

We ride on wooden horses

And are rotated in circles.

We long to become dizzy

Before the merry-go-round stops.

This is a strange journey,

This is a journey without a destination.

We cannot leave the circle.

And nonetheless we experience so much.

And we will never forget the music from the hurdy-gurdy.

Even when the images have long faded,

The melody still sounds in the ear.

We ride on wooden horses

And are rotated in circles

When we stop being dizzy,

Only then will you see where you stand.

People have ambitions

Even when they are in misery.

They want to be something better. Even when nobody has a say

It is a pleasure for everybody

o scream with others

Do you hear the ghost-song:

Something different, oh please, please, something different.

We ride on wooden horses

And are rotated in circles.

We are longing to become dizzy

Before the merry-go-round stops.

We cannot get out of the circle

And still we experience a lot.

We cannot leave the circle.

And nonetheless we experience so much.

And we will never forget the music from the hurdy-gurdy.

Even when the images faded long ago

The melody still sounds in the ear.

We ride on wooden horses

And are rotated in circles

When we stop being dizzy

Only then will you see where you stand.

I carry your heart with me

Poet: e. e. cummings 

Music: Ian Cusson

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it (anywhere

i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)  i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)

New Colossus 

Poet: Emma Lazarus 

Music: Nate Ben-Horin

A powerful setting of Emma Lazarus’ iconic poem, famously inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Lazarus, a Jewish activist, wrote The New Colossus as a message of hope for immigrants arriving in search of freedom. With its imagery of compassion and welcoming, this piece underscores the ideals of refuge, peace, and belonging.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Aatini’l Naya Wa Ghanni

Poet: Gibran Khalil Gibran

Music: Najib Hankash

Inspired by the poetry of Lebanese-American writer Gibran Khalil Gibran, Give Me the Flute and Sing is a meditative piece that reflects on detachment from material life. The poem suggests that true existence is sustained through music and melody, transcending physical possessions and earthly struggles.

Give me the Flute (Nay) and Sing

Give me the flute and sing

for singing is the secret of existence

And the sound of the flute remains

After the end of existence.

Have you, as i did,

taken the jungle A house without limitations

Have you followed the Runnels

And climbed the rocks

have you bathed in its fragrance

and dried yourself in its light

Have you tried drinking the Dawn

as your wine out of divine cups

Have you, as i did, sat in the afternoon

Between the grapes plants

with the clusters hanging like golden Chandlers…

Have you, as i did, slept on the grass at night

And used the sky as your blanket

Ascetic in what will come

Forgetting what has passed

Give me the flute and sing

Forget the disease and medication

For people are only lines written in water

Eli, Eli

Poet: Hannah Szenes

Arr. Nate Ben-Horin

Originally a Hebrew poem written by Hannah Szenes in 1942 and set to music by David Zehavi in 1945, Eli, Eli is a poignant song of resilience and faith. Szenes, a Jewish-Hungarian resistance fighter during WWII, wrote these verses while facing persecution. The song captures both personal sorrow and collective endurance, expressing a longing for peace amidst suffering.

My God, My God

I pray that these things never end:

The sand and the sea

The rustle of the water

The lightning in the sky

The prayer of Man.