"Lullaby for Children of Syria"
SCORED FOR: Symphonic Orchestra
YEAR: 2018-2019
DURATION: 5 minutes
INSTRUMENTATION: 2222 | 4231 | timp + 2 perc | strings
PREMIERE: May 2019
COMMISSION:
PUBLISHER: Houman Khalaj
AVAILABLE SCORES: Available on a rental base
RECORDINGS: Life recording available
DISCRIPTION:
"Lullaby for Children of Syria" which is dedicated to the children of war who suffer because of the ongoing consequences. In the meantime, this composition was dedicated to all of the children suffering from war around the world. Belgian-Iranian composer Houman Khalaj has been selected among the international composers around the world as a part of SoundMine (International course for composition with Wim Henderickx, Diederik Glorieux and Jorrit Tamminga) organized by musica, impulse Centre for music in 2018.
This orchestral work performed by Antwerp Symphony Orchestra- one of the well-known professional orchestra in Belgium. This composition along with 12 pieces written by other composers (from other countries) performed on the 14th of May, 2019 by the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, in the concert hall of the "De Singel", Antwerp, Belgium. Apart from being a lullaby, this work also represents the relationship of intervals and sounds that has been used to express the given context. As this composition has no text and the absence of a singer makes this composition mysterious. This work is a unification of both Persian and Western elements of music that could be interpreted by Western musicians and audiences. The composition transfers the sympathy towards the children of war, a combination of different emotions including; sense of protest, play, happiness, hope, anger, quiet sleep, comfort, security, tension, excitement, fear, anxiety, horror, and the sounds of war. The combination and mixture of these expressions within one piece of art undoubtedly is the heritage of Western culture. Moreover, what makes this artwork unique than other Western compositions according to the composer is the presence of Persian music intervals and modes that reflect the childhood memories of the composer about cradle songs, lullabies and the life of his adolescence in Iran. Through this way (it became obvious), the memories reveal the form of social realism. Many many thanks to Wim Henderickx for conducting and couching this project, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra for creating this wonderful opportunity and performing our music with such a fantastic high quality! and many thanks to Musica - Impulscentrum voor Muziek for organizing this fantastic project SOUNDMINE, International masterclass composition.
