Richard Blackford - Richard Blackford: Songs of Nadia Anjuman - A Song Cycle (Full Score & Parts for Soprano & String Orchestra)

Nadia Anjuman (1980-2005) was an Afghan poet writing during a period of turmoil. In 1995, when the Taliban captured Herat, her birthplace, women's liberties were drastically reduced. A gifted student, Nadia faced a future with no hope of education. With other women she attended an underground educational circle, Golden Needle Sewing School. Meeting uder the guise of learning how to sew, the meetings were in fact discussions on literature with Herat professors. While earning her degree in literature she published her first book of poetry. The five poems chosen are wide-ranging and cover extremes of emotion: from love; to delight in being a poet; to despair at her lack of freedom; and even contemplation of suicide.