Open Mind Surgery

#choirsagainstracism is a project I've been working on for a while - free music to fight racism and help refugees. This is the best recording from it so far, I think.



The words for this piece are drawn from the collective memories of Kurdish refugee women, by Aine McAllister. Aine taught English through poetry in Grande Synthe, and in these words is the voice of the women she met there.

"In springtime in Kurdistan we
go to the mountain; there
are flowers, trees and figs"

The song is a joyful memory - but of a place that they may never see again, a place that they must now describe in a foreign language.

This recording is by the Reid Consort in Edinburgh, conducted by Cole Bendall; the recording was funded by the Hope Scott Trust and by Creative Scotland, and made in the Robin Chapel, Edinburgh.

This piece is released under a Creative Commons 4.0 License, and is available for SSAATTBB, or for SSSSAAAA, as part of the #choirsagainstracism project.

You can download the score at www.hutchingsmusic.co.uk/choirsagainstracism , and there is also a list of suggested organisations to donate to in support of refugees and anti-racism causes.

Words by Aine McAllister, based on the collective memories of refugee women in Grande Synthe refugee camp, France; copyright Aine McAllister, 2017, used with permission

Music © Chris Hutchings 2017; words © Aine McAllister 2017
Released under Creative Commons 4.0 non-commercial license
For any commercial use, please contact [email protected]
hutchingsmusic.co.uk | twitter.com/hutchingsmusic | twitter.com/aine_mcallister