Background
In college I came into possession of a wonderful, second-hand anthology of poems that I have drawn from my whole life. A poem that leapt out at me at that time (I was a Peace Studies major) was Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth.”
What passing bells for those who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers or bells;Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyesShall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes,
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall.Their flowers, the tenderness of patient minds,And each slow dusk, a drawing down of blinds.
This piece lends itself to performance in a reverberant acoustic, and a very slow, deliberate tempo will allow Wilfred Owens’ words to be honored by the audience. Because each voice section is set off contrapuntally from the others, careful attention to the dynamic markings will help “curate” for the listeners what material is central and what is accompanimental.
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