Sunday Playlist - 5/16/2021

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzrVlXh4mc1O7dWwQOThWxtfoW2LZ_Roz

Mahmoud Darwish was, in essence, the Palestinian National Poet. His work speaks to the experiences of the occupation and resonates with the tragic events of the past week. I do not, unfortunately, read Arabic, but I've included a recitation in both Arabic and English of one of his most famous poems, "Identity Card." Palestinians are required to carry such a card, and it determines where they are allowed to travel in their own homeland--including whether they can enter Jerusalem. Even without a knowledge of Arabic, I believe that we hear something of the meaning of the poem in this speaker's impassioned voice. After she reads in Arabic, she reads again in English.

The Psalm that follows is meant to carry forward the theme, and is answered by the riveting solo by Geoffrey Golden. Next, Shaheen and Khcheich perform a traditional Arabic love tune, and we end with my beloved Hildegard, in an antiphon on "divine wisdom" Here are the lyrics, as provided by the Hildegard Society website:

O virtus Sapientie,
que circuiens circuisti,
comprehendendo omnia
in una via que habet vitam,
tres alas habens,
quarum una in altum volat
et altera de terra sudat
et tercia undique volat.
Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet, O Sapientia.
O Wisdom’s energy!
Whirling, you encircle
and everything embrace
in the single way of life.
Three wings you have:
one soars above into the heights,
one from the earth exudes,
and all about now flies the third.
Praise be to you, as is your due, O Wisdom.