for SATB soloists or choir unaccompanied
This powerful work is a sequence of meditations on loss and longing, of fear and of hope, by turns contemplative and dramatic. The narrative is made up of a selection of poems by four exiled Latvian writers from the group known as the Hell's Kitchen Poets and present-day displaced persons from Palestine and Syria. The text is in Latvian and English, and a pronunciation guide for the Latvian text is included in the vocal score. Jackson also employs percussion for dramatic effect, with three singers required to play brake drum, railway man's whistle, and claves. With all of the trademarks of Jackson's compelling musical style, this piece will be an exciting challenge for choirs looking to explore universal themes.

Exile Meditations interleaves poems by post-war European refugees and present-day Middle Eastern displaced persons. Europe is represented by four of a group of Latvian writers known as the Hell's Kitchen Poets, exiled by occupation and living in New York, and the Middle East by writers from Palestine and Syria. The piece doesn't offer any narrative of displacement but, rather, is a sequence of meditations on loss and longing, of fear and of hope, by turns contemplative and dramatic.
© Gabriel Jackson, 2018