Heller, Barbara: Lalai

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This composition is based on the song ‘Lai, Lai, Lai’ written by a group of intellectuals who were executed in Teheran in 1973 during the reign of the Shah. A song of the Resistance, it depicts a mother singing a lullaby to her child and telling it that its father has been arrested and imprisoned. Barbara Heller composed this piece in 1989 and dedicated it to all Iranian women. Originally for violin and piano, it has been arranged for small ensemble (Flute, Viola, Guitar, Percussion ad lib.) by Sigi Schwab and the Diabelli-Trio; the female speaker reads out an introduction and then recites the three verses of the song in between the five movements of the suite.