Morning Heroes
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Morning Heroes is a symphony for orator, chorus and orchestra by the English composer Arthur Bliss. Essentially an oratorio in all but name, the work received its first performance at the Norwich Festival on 22 October 1930, with Basil Milne as the speaker/orator.[1] Written in the aftermath of World War I, in which Bliss had performed military service[2], Bliss inscribed the dedication as follows:
"To the Memory of my brother Francis Kennard Bliss and all other Comrades killed in battle"
The work sets various poems[3] [4]:
- Homer, The Iliad, passages from Book VI (translation of W Leaf) and Book XIX (translation of Chapman)
- Walt Whitman, "Drum Taps"
- Wilfred Owen, "Spring Offensive"
- Li Tai Po
- Robert Nichols, "Dawn on the Somme"
The extracts are spoken by a narrator and sung by a large choir. Juxtaposing the harsh images of trench warfare with the epic heroes of Ancient Greece, the parallels Bliss draws are essentially romantic, and the work as a whole has been criticised as being rather complacent.[5] Bliss himself said that he suffered from a repeating nightmare about his war experiences and that the composition of Morning Heroes helped to exorcise this.[6] [7]
[edit] Movements
The work falls into five sections, in the structure of a palindrome, with the first movement acting as a prologue, then fast, slow, and fast movements, and the final movement acting as an epilogue.[6] The work includes the respective texts. [4]:
- I: "Hector's Farewell to Andromache"
- II: "The City Arming"
- III: "Vigil" - "The Bivouac's Flame"
- IV: "Achilles goes to battle" - "The Heroes"
- V: "Now, Trumpeter, For Thy Close" - "Spring Offensive" - "Dawn on the Somme"
[edit] Recordings
- EMI Classics: John Westbrook, speaker; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir; Sir Charles Groves, conductor
- BBC Radio Classics: Richard Baker, speaker; BBC Symphony Chorus; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor
- Cala: Brian Blessed, speaker; East London Chorus, Harlow Chorus, East Hertfordshire Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Michael Kibblewhite, conductor
[edit] References
- ^ "F.B." (1 December 1930). "The Norwich Festival". The Musical Times 71 (1054): 1081-1082.
- ^ Burn, Andrew (August 1991). "Rebel to Romantic: The Music of Arthur Bliss". The Musical Times 132 (1782): 383-386.
- ^ Butcher, A.V. (April 1947). "Walt Whitman and the English Composer". Music & Letters 28 (2): 154-167.
- ^ a b "H.G." (1 October 1930). "Morning Heroes: A New Symphony by Arthur Bliss". The Musical Times 71 (1052): 881-886.
- ^ Penguin Guide to Classical Music
- ^ a b Burn, Andrew (October 1985). "'Now, Trumpeter for Thy Close': The Symphony Morning Heroes: Bliss's Requiem for His Brother". The Musical Times 126 (1713): 666-668.
- ^ Palmer, Christopher (August 1971). "Aspects of Bliss". The Musical Times 112 (1542): 743-745.
