It’s difficult to imagine having to endure the worry and anxiety of war, the constant fear that harm might come to your loved ones ‘over there’, or that your place ‘at home’ may no longer be the same sanctuary it was before the war.
It’s also hard to conceive the sheer joy and exuberance that began to build as it became apparent that the war might finally be drawing to an end.
‘Hurrah! The day at last has come!’ Armistice celebrations in Sydney. ‘Sydney Mail’ 20 November 1918
By the end of October 1918, after more than four years of sacrifice, fear and grief, there was escalating speculation about an Armistice. By early November the sense that peace was imminent was overwhelming. There were a couple of false starts – in Sydney people began celebrating in the streets as early as 8 November…and again on 9 November. But, at last, at 11am on the 11th of November, the Armistice was signed, and the guns fell silent.
In 2014, the Sydney University Graduate Choir marked the centenary of the outbreak of war with the acclaimed premiere performance of An Australian War Requiem. It seems fitting that we will again perform the Requiem to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice.
Composed by the Christopher Bowen OAM, with libretto by Pamela Traynor, and inspired by letters and poems from soldiers at the front and mothers at home, An Australian War Requiem pays tribute to the unbreakable bond between mothers and sons, undiminished even through the horror of war.
Soloists Taryn Fiebig (Soprano), Ashlyn Tymms (Mezzo-soprano), Andrew Goodwin (Tenor), Adrian Tamburini (Bass), and Wade Kernot (Bass) will join the Sydney University Graduate Choir and Orchestra, guest choir and childrens’ choirs in this heartfelt exploration of sacrifice, loss and love.
An Australian War Requiem will be performed at the Sydney Town Hall at 3pm on 11 November 2018. Tickets are available from our page on Eventbrite.
Please do join with us to commemorate this important occasion.
An Australian War Requiem 