Jân-[é] jahân

Persian poetry, rich and nuanced, draws its depth from the Persian language, which does not distinguish grammatical gender, offering great flexibility to poets and making translation complex.
In this piece, the first verse is drawn from love poetry. Isolated, it can be interpreted in multiple ways: a mother speaking to her child, expressing maternal love, or a woman singing a lament. This creates a universe where the female voice oscillates between lamentation and maternal love, echoing Durme Durme Mi Linda Donzella. The absence of gender amplifies this ambiguity. The following stanzas, following the same logic, can evoke a mother’s laments addressed to God, the Virgin Mary, or a loved one, seeking help and comfort, illustrating the versatility of Persian poetry. This form of prayer or supplication is common in Persian poetry, whether directed toward lovers or God. Jân-[é] Jahân fits harmoniously into a program dedicated to the Virgin Mary, resonating with the Sephardic lullaby Durme Durme Mi Linda Donzella and the Greek hymn Agni Parthene to the Virgin. The final theme, borrowed from 18th century traditional Persian music, reflects the sonic and poetic universe of Jân-é Jahân. The excerpts are drawn from Persian poetry of the 18th and 19th centuries.