Work
Towards first light : an Anzac requiem, for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra
by Iain Grandage and Kate Mulvany (2015)
Score
Towards first light : an Anzac requiem, for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra / by Iain Grandage ; text by Kate Mulvany after the words of Australian war veterans and their families.
Library shelf no. 782.554/GRA 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
"The words and ideas in Towards First Light come directly from the hearts and memories of soldiers and their families. These incredible men and women shared their stories with us face-to-face, and through the publications The Anzac Book, Khaki and Green, Jungle Warfare and Soldiering On. Some have passed, some live on, but to all we are eternally grateful."
So writes Kate Mulvany, my collaborator on Towards First Light. In placing these texts at the core of this work, replacing as they do the traditional Requiem verses, it is our intention to not only acknowledge the primacy of Veterans in the genesis of the piece - without their sacrifice and service, it simply wouldn't exist - but also to open the work to a broader audience - one that is both secular and religious.
Work Details
Year: 2015
Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets in B flat (2nd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contra-bassoon), 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B flat, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (2 players), harp, strings (min. 10.8.6.5.4), soprano and baritone soloists, SATB choir.
Duration: 45 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Contents note: I. Introit -- II. Kyrie -- III. Dies Irae -- IV. Lacrimosa -- V. Lus Aeterna -- VI. Libera Me -- VII. In Paradisum.
Commission note: Commissioned by the Government of South Australia through the efforts of The Hon. Mike Rann, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the ANZAC Gallipoli landings of 25th April 1915
First performance: by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Chorus, Iain Grandage, Taryn Fiebig, Jud Arthur at Towards First Light (Adelaide Town Hall) on 22 Apr 2015
Subjects
- Has as subject/About: Commemoration of war
Performances of this work
28 Apr 2019: at Adelaide Concert Collective - A Simple Soldier (Elder Hall). Featuring Adelaide Concert Collective, Nicholas Braithwaite.
22 Apr 2015: at Towards First Light (Adelaide Town Hall). Featuring Iain Grandage, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Jud Arthur, Taryn Fiebig, Adelaide Symphony Chorus.
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