Voices of Earth and Air Vol III

The Statue of Liberty, with its famous inscription of Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” has been in the news a lot during the past year, including various reinterpretations of its significance. Originally, France offered the statue to commemorate the ending of the Civil War in the United States, proclaiming that only by prohibiting slavery had this country finally become a democracy. Lazarus expanded that sentiment in her sonnet, expressing gratitude on behalf of her Jewish ancestors who had escaped Russia during the pogroms. When the poem was inscribed on the Statue in New York Harbor after Lazarus’ death, both Lady Liberty and “The New Colossus” combined to represent the face and voice of US democracy, of freedom from slavery, and also as a welcome to desperate people in need of asylum. I believe the majority of Americans, despite our differences, still view the Statue of Liberty and her torch in this light, since most of us have ancestors who emigrated from somewhere else.

We are living at a time when immigration is a world-wide issue, which no one country can solve alone. To me, this is a delicate and complex situation that deserves compassionate consideration and collaboration. Since I don’t have the temperament or money for political campaigning, music is the vessel I can offer to give voice to the thoughts and feelings of people who have no voice in the world.

In working with the public domain text, I chose to set 11 of the 14 lines in Lazarus’ sonnet, which include those that are best-known. At the point when the text refers to the Statue as “Mother of Exiles,” I began overlapping translations of that name in 16 different languages, and also adopted it as the title of my choral version.

My dream is for Mother of Exiles to be performed by choirs around the world, with hopes that it will become an anthem for campaigns and organizations who believe in its purpose. If you are interested in furthering this mission, please visit tikkunmusic.com/mother-of-exiles

You can find out more about this project by visiting the following link: https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/mother-of-exiles/campaigns/3118

— Theresa Koon

Mother of Exiles
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.

Madre des exiliados, mére des exiles, Mutter der Verbannten,
mat' izgnannikov, madre di esuli, 'ama almunfiiyn, eksilens moder, muter fun exeylz, majka izgnanica, matka exulantů, mitéra exóriston, mama wa wahamisho, umama wabathunjwa, nirvaasan kee maan, Bōmei-sha no haha, ka makuahine o ka poʻe pio

From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”