British composer Patrick Hawes was composer-in-residence at Britain's Classic FM radio network, and his music falls into the accessible neo-Romantic vein favored in the network's programming. The Great War Symphony is a full-blown choral treatment of World War I, in four movements, one each for the years 1914-1916, and one for the last two years of the war. Proceeds from the work's performances and recordings sold go to a major British veterans' organization. Each movement is divided into choral sections and solos, with the ...
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British composer Patrick Hawes was composer-in-residence at Britain's Classic FM radio network, and his music falls into the accessible neo-Romantic vein favored in the network's programming. The Great War Symphony is a full-blown choral treatment of World War I, in four movements, one each for the years 1914-1916, and one for the last two years of the war. Proceeds from the work's performances and recordings sold go to a major British veterans' organization. Each movement is divided into choral sections and solos, with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain taking a Greek-chorus role while the solos mostly embody the voices and experiences of individual soldiers as they go through the carnage. The texts include the Latin "Dies irae," which gets a thumping, dramatic, choral setting here, as well as such things as words on headstones, but mostly consist of English poetry by various authors in the manner of John Rutter. Rutter is one influence here; Elgar is another, and the feel of English tradition...
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