A Year to Remember

By Richard Brewer 

It’s been an extremely busy month for us here at Southern Sinfonia; our Birthday concert on 31^st October in Newbury, two concerts on 8^th November in Wells and Romsey, another on 22^nd November in Bath and then finally tomorrow evening back in Newbury. Phew! With it being the 100^th anniversary since the start of the First World War, a lot of music performed in these concerts commemorated those who lost their lives.

A few of the pieces chosen have cropped up more than once. One that has recurred twice, in Romsey and in Bath, was Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams. Translated as “give us peace”, the composer uses the phrase along with American poet Walt Whitman’s poem, Dirge For Two Veterans. The piece is extremely atmospheric, with the title frequently set to a haunting semi-tone fall. The final moments of the piece are given to the solo soprano who sings the semi-tone fall gradually lower and lower, dying away to pianissimo. When performed in venues like Romsey Abbey and Bath Abbey, the haunting feeling is accentuated; “give us peace” sounds like a strong heartfelt plea from soldiers on the frontline during the First World War.

Another piece that has occurred twice is Edward Elgar’s The Spirit of England, more specifically the final movement “For the Fallen”. Elgar was reportedly extremely affected by the events of World War One. His good friend, Sir Sidney Colvin, suggested that the composer set music to the poems by renowned war poet Lawrence Binyon. In a similar way to the aforementioned Vaughan Williams, the music and text evokes strong imagery from the battlefield. The text used is particularly striking in its solemnity. This is interesting given that the piece was premiered in 1917 when the public would perhaps have been expecting something rousing to raise their spirits during an awful time in their lives. Instead, they were presented with something of a remembrance; an elegy of those who had already fallen, and those who continued to fall in the war.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn,

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Music is such a powerful tool for evoking past memories. They can be in the form of people, places, events; I would go so far as to say that music could evoke memories of anything. But music that is used as a tool of remembrance for those who have died in the war is extremely poignant. The Last Post is perhaps the most striking pieces of music in this sense. Such a simple melody based on only harmonics, albeit extremely difficult to play, is heard at remembrance ceremonies and services all across the country. I travelled to see the poppies at the Tower of London a couple of weeks ago, as many of you may have done too. When I was there, a guardsman started playing the last post just as the sun was setting; everyone around me, of which there were huge crowds, fell silent. It really struck a chord with me, and demonstrated just how powerful music can be.

We have been extremely lucky to be able to perform music like this in venues as beautiful as Romsey and Bath Abbey. The Choral Societies did a fantastic job putting concerts on, with healthy audiences too. Long may music continue to evoke powerful memories for us all. 

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