'Lullaby', the new choral work created for Together for Palestine’s Wembley event, began as a seed of an idea far from the stadium it was meant to fill. Earlier in the summer, composer and arranger Kieran Brunt was approached by artist Es Devlin, who was exploring a dance project woven from lullabies collected around the world. When Devlin later joined the creative team for the Wembley show, she proposed reshaping that concept: could a folk song, rooted in Palestinian heritage, be reimagined as something thousands of voices might carry together?  

The brief that landed on Brunt’s desk was simple in form, but complex in spirit: find a Palestinian folk song that could be transformed into a collective act of singing. An act of witness as much as music. Brunt drafted an initial demo, a sketch of what such a piece might become.  

The song chosen, brought to the project by Brian Eno and Amir Nizar Zuabi, was ‘Yamma Mawil al Hawa’. The team imagined a structure that would honour the song’s origins while opening it outward: beginning in Arabic, then expanding into new English verses written by Peter Gabriel. Central to this vision was Palestinian vocalist Nai Barghouti, whose history with the song and remarkable musicianship became the anchor for the undertaking. As Brunt described it, her presence was “integral to the whole process.”

Around her, the ensemble formed almost instinctively, artists drawn to the project’s purpose just as much as its music. Rehearsals unfolded in fragments between Zoom calls and sessions in Brunt’s London Church studio. Celeste joined at the last minute, running through her solo during her soundcheck just a day before the show. The group only came fully together the day prior, practising in a school gym near Wembley, where, for the first time, the gospel choir, soloists and ensemble heard the piece. Brunt remembers the atmosphere as “magical”.  

But the night of the event took an unexpected turn. As the schedule tightened, their performance was cut at the last moment. Wearing their in-ear monitors, the ensemble took in the emotional intensity of the performances before them, trying to process the sudden disappointment. By morning, however, the mission reasserted itself. By 2pm that day, Brunt and Barghouti were in the studio, recording what would become the released version of ‘Lullaby’. Along the way, musicians including Bastille's Dan Smith, Benji B, Lana Lubany, Leigh-Anne, London Community Gospel Choir, Mabel, Nadine Shah, Neneh Cherry, Sura Abdo, TYSON, Yasmeen Ayyashi and Ysee all joined the project.

Throughout the process, cultural sensitivity was its guiding principle. Brunt emphasised that they were not attempting to recreate a traditional performance, but to build a respectful hybrid that allowed Palestinian musical elements to live within a broader choral world. One of the most powerful moments came from a suggestion by Benji B: English and Arabic lines rising together. In the first a capella rehearsal, the effect was overwhelming. “It made us all burst into tears,” Brunt recalls.

What began as an idea in August became a finished master in November, months of work none of them anticipated. But the purpose remained unwavering: to keep Palestine visible, present and humanised in the mainstream conversation. They hope that the single will become the UK’s Christmas No. 1. Brunt concludes by saying that it will “send a strong message of hope to the children in Gaza, that we in the UK keep them in our hearts and will not let their cause be pushed out of our political focus.”

You can buy/listen to ‘Lullaby’ at https://togetherforpalestine.org/