Recording
Please contact me if you would like a score or recording Come With Me from Lebanon.
Program Notes
As with many of my works, Come with me from Lebanon | هيّا معي من لبنان is inspired by my Syriac Maronite heritage—deriving not only of its music, but also hymn-poetry. Most Syriac (Aramaic) Maronite poems and hymns are based on 3 meters: (1) the St. Ephrem meter which is made up of seven syllables, (2) The St. Jacob of Serugh meter which is made up of four syllables, and (3) the Balai of Qenneshrin meter which is made up of five syllables. These numbers were relied on for this composition’s construction.
The importance of hymn-poetry in this tradition cannot be over-stated. Such is that the case that when Syriac poems are translated to Arabic, the meter is preserved, contrary to the Byzantine churches, which emphasized preserving the meaning of the text above all.
I have included in the score, the original melody associated with various versions of the text, all of which start with “Come with me from Lebanon”. My melody is unrelated to the original one. Settings of the hymn often combine Arabic and Aramaic, or sometimes just one.
Come with me from Lebanon | هيّا معي من لبنان was commissioned by and dedicated to Stanley Konopka, without whom this piece would not exist. I am eternally grateful for all of his help and inspiration.