MusicUpClose - Musical Responses to War

Prof Barbara L. Kelly look at how composers responded to war in the music they wrote as well as in their private letters and public pronouncements.

Those unable to take part in the fighting often used their art to support the war effort. Elgar and Debussy are good examples. Prevented by age and illness to defend their country, they wrote musical tributes for the King Albert book. It was a political and artistic tribute by politicians and artistic figures in response to the German invasion of Belgian in 1914. We will hear Elgar’s Carillon and an extract of Debussy’s Berceuse Heroique. Debussy liked to hide musical clues in his music. If you listen closely, you can hear the Belgian national anthem in the Berceuse and a musical contest between Germany and France in En Blanc et noir. The highlight of the evening is a performance of Debussy’s Sonata for Cello and Piano. Here private and public lives merge as we puzzle over the significance of this majestic work by a dying musician and national figurehead.

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