Listen to Uri Netanel’s Peace is a Woman and Mother

Enjoy Peace is a Woman and Mother by Uri Netanel, dedicated to the Tel Aviv Saxophone Quartet by whom it was recorded. The work was inspired by Prof. Ada Aharoni’s poem named “Peace is a Woman and Mother.” The music in this work develops through a number of stages, typically using microtones and interpreting the poem’s narrative (according to its Hebrew version). Finally, after about 7 minutes, peace and relaxation are reached and are expressed in a melodic theme introduced by the Soprano saxophone, taken over by the Tenor saxophone and later echoed by the Alto saxophone.

The poem’s English version, written by the poet, follows:

A BRIDGE OF PEACE
My Arab sister, let us build a wonder bridge
From your fig tree and vine to mine
Above the boiling pain of the Intefada battle
Salima, my Arab sister, when will we laugh again
Like two women, instead of weeping on our sons’ stones?

You and me, Salima, my friend, on this wonder bridge
From your culture to mine, from my culture to yours
In the fragrance of blossoming jasmine, holding hands
Whispering secrets about our loves, our children, our plans,
And our deepest, deepest yearning for a bright free sky
Crowned by twinkling peace stars.

I do not want to be your oppressor, you do not want to be my oppressor,
Or your jailer, or my jailer, we do not want to make each other afraid
Under our vines and under our fig trees blossoming on a silver horizon
Above the bleeding of our children by stones, bullets and missiles.

So, my Arab sister, let us build a sturdy bridge
Of tolerant jasmine understanding, where each shall sit with her baby
Under her vine and under her fig tree
AND NONE SHALL MAKE THEM AFRAID!