Story Line
Grant Us Peace - performed by the Choeur de l’USJ and the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Yasmina Sabbah, with art and stage direction by Chadi Zein and Libeyrouth for Living Arts and Culture - is a concert tribute to those we lost to war, killings and injustice. The centerpiece of our program features Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem — Latin for “grant us peace”— a mesmerizing piece that combines poems by Walt Whitman, a speech to British Parliament, and passages from the bible. This work is a cry for peace, in which the composer takes us on a journey from the horrors of war to a universal plea for world peace, all messages pertinent and vital in today’s Lebanon. While it was written as a warning before World War II and a plea not to repeat the carnage of previous wars, its message of harmony and reconciliation amidst chaos and violence is what we need most during these uncertain and difficult times. Composed in 1936, the work served as a rallying cry for the anti-war movement capturing the fear and anxiety of the people leading up to the war. Lebanon has endured a bloody and violent 15-year civil war and a series of violent events leading to the August-4 explosion. Though our bloody past has not been forgotten, and while peace may still be far, we have no choice but to dream for it. The recurring prayer “grant us peace” haunts the entire work, finally triumphing over the terrors of war which are explicitly described in Whitman’s poems. The second part of the program features choral works by French composer Gabriel Fauré - set on the words of big French poets and writers like Victor Hugo, Robert de Montesquiou and Armand Silvestre - carrying on with the message that love is truly what we need.
