Introduction
The Gaza Lament
The Gaza Lament is a piece of music put together by all of the Confluence Collective that reflected the horror we felt when the state created prison camp for nearly two million was relentlessly bombed in 2014. A studio recording was made that incorporated most Confluence members at that time. It was based on a traditional Hebrew lament that was combined with a traditional Palestinian folk song which Nuzhat Abbas adapted so as to sing a lament in Punjabi. Confluence members such as Andrew Smith and Chris Hills Trish Elphinstone Nini Sakhri and Steve Gilbey added parts and Malcolm Atkins scored out what was needed and organised and mixed the recording A film created by Abbas Mohammad that uses the recording was made in 2016 and is here:
Gaza Lament by Confluence Collective Oxford
The studio recording we made is here:
In 2024 a few of us revised this piece and reworked it in response to the genocide in Gaza as we saw it unfold. Nuzhat revised the text she sang, and Malcolm revised the song to add in a setting of the poem If I must Die by Refaat Alareer and of the German text Schwerter zu Pflugscharen (Swords to Ploughshares) which was used on the Easter peace marches in Germany attended by Lizzy Spight in the 1980s. Lizzy sang this on the recording. Malcolm changed the harmonic structure of the piece and recorded a version with Lizzy and Nuzhat which is here:
Subsequently a third version was created where Nuzhat’s text was translated into English (by Lynn Hawkins and Malcolm Atkins) so that it could be sung by the Blackbird Leys Choir and Littlemore Church at events organised to promote peace and tolerance at Christmas. A recording of this version is here
Because there are a number of versions of this song that use so many different elements we are making all scores available that we can.
Below are some comments about why putting this together has been important to us and why we hope others will engage in singing it. We can always help facilitate that if people need help.
Comments from members of Confluence Collective
This has been a long-term project for Confluence and we are all dismayed that there are no signs of it coming to an end any day soon.
-Andrew Smith
Gaza lament our joint creation.
I remember in Brookes University we were doing rehearsals, practicing and improvising. Malcolm started singing one tune and I organically started singing the Gaza lament without even writing it.
I think it was genuinely our feelings or grief towards what was happening in Gaza at that time. Sadly, nothing has changed till now but we are still standing and raising our voices for justice and peace for Palestine.
-Nuzhat Abbas
The Gaza Lament is a very sweet tune. The song is gentle and mournful. I think it reflects how we all were feeling at the time. Nuzhat’s vocal line has a particular yearning quality that is placed forward in the mix. It projects the important message of peace that we were trying to get heard.
-Chris Hills
