ܥܰܠ ܒܶܝܬ ܠܚܶܡ ܕܺܝܗܽܘܕܳܐ ܥܶܒ̇ܪܶܬ
ܘܩܳܠܳܐ ܕܢܽܘܨܪ̈ܳܬܳܐ ܫܶܡ̇ܥܶܬ ܚܰܒܺܝ̈ܒܳܬܳܐ
ܘܰܐܚ̣ܕܰܢܝ ܕܽܘܡܳܪܳܐ
ܩܳܠܳܗ̇ ܕܡܰܪܝܰܡ ܕܰܡ̇ܢܰܨܪܳܐ ܠܰܒܪܳܗ̇
ܫܦ̣ܰܪ ܠܳܟ ܒܶܪܝ ܘܰܗܘܺܝ̇ܬ ܐܶܡܳܟ
ܘܕܰܐܒܽܘܟ ܡܰܢܽܘ
ܐܶܡܳܟ ܠܳܐ ܪܓܺܝܫܳܐ
I passed by Bethlehem of Judea
And I heard the sound of cherished songs
And I was filled with wonder
The voice of Mary, cooing to her son
“It was good for you, my son, that I became your mother
Who is your father?
Your mother does not know.”
Phonetic pronunciation:
ʿal beyt laḥem dīhū-do ʿibreyt
wa qole dnūṣaratā wa shemʿet ḥabiboto
waḥdān dwoumoro
qolo dmariam damnaṣrā labroh
shfar lokh beyr wa huweyt ʾibémokh
ʾāmoukh manou
ʾemoukh lor gheysho
ā – Long a [aː]
ḥ – like whispered h, with a slightly constricted throat: [ħ] (not to be mistaken with the kh!)
ī – Long i [ee] as in east
ū – Long u as in the ou of you
ṣ – emphatic s (make an s by placing the tongue on the roof of the mouth)
ʿ – The letter ‘ayn. This is a deep, throaty sound that has no equivalent in English. It is produced by constricting the throat.
ʾ – the hamza is used before a vowel and adds a little pause, as in the first letter in attack
kh – as in the ch in the German word nacht
PROGRAM NOTES
This Nativity scene is part of the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition that is sung in the Syriac language. This new setting of this text is for a Western SATB chorus. While it draws inspiration from the traditional singing style, this new setting is not meant to be traditional. Rather, it is a bridge to another culture through the familiar story of Mary, singing to her son. I tried to focus on the mixed emotions of love, confusion, and anxiety that Mary must’ve felt. For future performance, I will create a version for cello in case a oud player is not available. This work was composed for and dedicated to Capella Regalis of Halifax, Nova Scotia.