as the year 2014 approached I was aware that the Centene with the first world
war was approaching as well and I believed from the very beginning that
this centenary should produce monumental works of art works of art that can be
performed or viewed or read in another hundred years time and I kind of set
myself a mission then to write a full-scale work in memory of all those
who gave their lives during the First World War and this evolved into the
great war symphony a symphony because Marla said the symphony is a world and I
thought if I'm going to write a piece of music a serious substantial piece of
music about the First World War the symphony I think is this musical genre
that can hold it I was also aware that the four movements of the traditional
symphony lend themselves perfectly to the four years of the first world war
and that's what it's all about that the first movement is a reflection on the
middle of 1914 - the middle of 1915 and so on I'd spent
can you believe of eighteen months researching the texts I was going to use
I kind of hid myself away and thought look if I'm going to be writing what I
hope is gonna be a major work of memorial to these to these men who gave
their lives I need to do it properly and seriously and know what I'm on about
and once I'd compiled the text that I wanted to use I began work I suppose it
took me about eight months to write I realized that I could call the first
movement praeludium the second movement March the third movement elegy because
the third year of the war was very still stagnant very little progress was made
either by the Germans or the Allies and so I thought that lent itself to a a
movement of greater reflection this is the grave of my great uncle Harry three
four seventeen Lance Corporal H whores Lincolnshire regiment died the 14th of
October 1916 but the most amazing thing is this inscription he lies with
England's heroes in the watchful care of God and I'm struck by how poetic it is
especially compared to some of the other inscriptions many of the stones don't
have any sort of inscription like that and all of a sudden I'm struck with the
fact that I could use these words in the great war symphony they'd be perfect for
my elegy the third movement which takes as its basis August 1916 to August 1917
and this just fits perfectly in that timeframe it's great poetic phrase and
of course my personal connection
and then the finale which of course examines how the the war could have gone
either way it was a stalemate I begin that movement
with a setting of the DA Syria this kind of movement of truth which way is it
going to go you know will the song disinter hell or will it rise to heaven
the great British poet and novelist Thomas Hardy wrote a poem on the day of
the Armistice 11th of November and within it I set just as a sentence is so
beautiful it's a turning point calm fell and Heaven distilled a clemency
fantastic words there was peace on earth and silence in the sky that comes
towards the end of thee towards the end of the symphony I end the symphony
itself with an American poem a female American poet Moyna Michael called we
shall keep the faith beautiful poem it's the first time actually the poppy is
ever mentioned as an emblem of remembrance
it was premiered in the Royal Albert Hall in October 2018 which was probably
the most fulfilling experience of my life to a packed audience wall for the
monocore costura the National Youth choirs of Great Britain the fantastic
soprano who I believe will emerge as one of the greatest of our generation
Louise older and Joshua Ellicott's antenna one thing
I learned writing the Great War Symphony is if you're going to be writing a piece
of music about a particular period or of a particular period I think it's very
important you do all you can to gain an affinity with that period but writing
the Great War Symphony I found myself listening to a lot of volumes and also
Elgar music that was thoroughly of that time and of that country of my country
England I didn't want to write with the Great War Symphony or the work where the
musical language was foreign to the period I was writing about and I think
that's an important lesson for young composers because you're not always
going to be writing about the present or the future you know often as creative
people we want to reach back and be a little bit nostalgic and I think once
there forgot to put oneself in the position in context of that particular
period