Will the Mountains Sing for Me (2025) - ca. 11'
2, 0, 0, 2 – 2, 0, 0, 0 – strings [86442]
Co-commissioned by Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and American Composers Orchestra
with support from Justus and Elizabeth Schlichting and the Steven R. Gerber Trust
Premiere:
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Stilian Kirov
Ozinga Chapel on the campus of Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL
March 22, 2025
Program Notes:
In this piece, I borrowed a melody from an old song my father used to sing to me. The song is called Be Koohaye Saboonat, meaning "to the mountains of Saboonat." Saboonat is the name of a small city where my dad was born in Iran and lived for a few years when he was young until he migrated to the city of Shiraz. The lyrics of the song translate to: “I saw the mountains of Saboonat and my heart catches fire. Oh God, Saboonat is so cold and my heart is filled with sadness”. The metaphors in this piece refer to feelings of love, longing, waiting for loved ones, and never seeing loved ones again.
I wanted to express the idea of shared memories within specific communities and how certain events or phenomena change and shape our perceptions and memories, which previously held different meanings and emotions. One example of this happening within the shared memory of the Iranian community was when a viral video of Nika Shahkarami singing one of the most famous love songs in Iran came out on social media after she was brutally tortured and killed during the 2022 Women Life Freedom uprising in Iran. After Nika’s death, this song was no longer just a love song, it became something new filled with feelings of anger and sadness about losing loved ones who were fighting for freedom and justice.
Now, after all these years, and especially after years of living in the United States, I realize that home has different meanings for me. The melodies I used to hear are no longer the same. Now, that I am far away from the place I used to call home and I cannot go back or see my loved ones, those mountains are alive and set my heart on fire.
I no longer see those mountains that my dad used to sing about. I no longer associate that song with my childhood and the soothing characteristics of it. It is now integrated with the complexity of my exile and the events that continue to unravel in my home country.