Whispers of Jasmine (2016)

for SATB chorus a cappella
Commissioned by Suzi Digby and The Golden Bridge Choir
Text by Nahal Navidar
5 minutes

WORLD PREMIERE
The Golden Bridge Choir
Suzi Digby, conductor
September 17, 2016, All Saints Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills, CA

Jasmine is the national flower of Syria. Poet Nahal Navidar writes: "Whispers of Jasmine narrates the exodus of millions of Syrian refugees whose only comfort is the familiar scent of jasmine clinging to their clothes in their long search for a new home." Adolphe adds: "The scent and sound of jasmine is at once a powerful reminder of one's family and homeland yet also an ephemeral scent dissapating in the wind."

Whispers of Jasmine
Text by Nahal Navidar

Jasmine sweetens the air
A whisper of the sun
As uneasy feet shuffle
In the dark clutch of frightened night

The winds of war scatter souls
To the far reaches of the world
As a small hand tugs at worn fabric, asking
"Mama, where is home?"

Her skin smells of jasmine
Her voice like the breezy dawn
A spark delivers comfort
And lights the unknown road

The winds of war scatter souls
To the far reaches of the world
As a small hand tugs at worn fabric, asking
"Mama, where is home?"