Yasmina Sabbah and composer Lucas Sakr greeted by the audience at the end of the world premiere. Photo Chœur de l'USJ IMG_2704_624797
At the Heart of Our Land is an oratorio for choir, soloists and orchestra commissioned from composer Lucas Sakr to mark the 150th anniversary of Saint Joseph University.
It received its world premiere at the Church of Saint Joseph of the Jesuit Fathers, filled and gleaming in full splendor.
Rich in color and infused with hope amid a turbulent global moment, the work unfolds in five sections: the opening, foundation, values, challenges and legacy.
Leading the USJ symphonic orchestra, Yasmina Sabbah delivers a focused and expressive interpretation, drawing silky textures from the strings and winds that are by turns incisive and tender. Her direction lends the music both intensity and a dreamlike quality.
Sakr’s musical language ranges freely across time and geography, blending Eastern and Western traditions, jazz and Maronite melodies with notable finesse. The score offers moments of striking brilliance, including several passages that stand out for their emotional force, notably the first violin solos by Mario Rahi.
At times, the music turns to tightly constructed fugues in both orchestra and choir, rendered with clarity and precision under Sabbah’s steady baton.
The libretto, written collectively in French, Arabic and English, with brief passages in Latin and Greek, celebrates the university’s history and values.
It alternates between secular and sacred texts, carried by a choir at the height of its vocal cohesion and by three soloists: soprano Fanny Utiger, whose expressive vibrato adds depth; baritone Simon Ruffieux, who advances the narrative through clear, articulate recitatives; and baritone Gilbert Rahbani, whose natural tone brings a distinctly Lebanese color to the ensemble.
Spoken interludes by Hatem Sidani link the different sections of the oratorio. The work marks not only 150 years of USJ, but also the 10th anniversary of its choir, founded by Sabbah.
In his welcoming remarks, Father Francois Boedec praised her “fierce energy and determination,” which he said have made the choir one of the strongest in the region.
For the audience, the oratorio was a compelling discovery, its layered musical language enriched by the warmth and spirituality of the orchestra and choir, guided throughout by precise and assured direction.
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