The Great War (2014) by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:34Z For Chamber Ensemble and Bass-Baritone Victoria Bethel and Geoffery Wood, B-flat trumpets Jacob Reeves, trombone Christopher William Gurtcheff, tuba John Cooper and Nicholas Lindell, violins Christopher Williams, viola Jacob Hood, cello Washington Isaac Holmes, bass-baritone Stephen Medlar, drum set Joshua Todd Manuel, conductor To purchase the full score and parts, go to https://www.patreon.com/anthonylsanchezcomposer. Program Notes: I composed this cyclical four-movement work to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. Although the piece alludes to key events and developments (the death of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, the evolution in combat through machine guns and poison gas, etc.), I did not intend for The Great War to serve as a historically accurate interpretation. Instead, I chose to create a reflection on the artistic reactions to World War I through music and poetry. Following this path, I drew inspiration from the Classical pieces of the time period (The Rite of Spring from 1911 by Igor Stravinsky [1882-1971] and the opera Wozzeck from 1917 to 1921 by Alban Berg [1885-1935]. I also included elements of Dixieland Jazz, which became popular by 1917. The instrumentation in this piece changes by movement. The brass quartet represents the Axis Powers (mainly, Germany), while the strings represent the Allied Powers. Throughout The Great War, the chamber ensemble gradually expands in instrumentation and sound (more like the last movement of the Haydn "Farewell" Symphony, only backwards.) The Drum Set represents the combat used in World War I (bombs, machine guns and poison gas). The Great War also includes a musical depiction of the poem “Dulce et decorum est ” (1917-1918[?]) by British poet Wilfred Owen (1893-1918). The text, scored for Baritone, depicts an unspecified account of a poison gas attack on a troop of Allied Infantry soldiers. The poem graphically describes the physical and mental effects of fighting after the unspecified speaker/singer recalls the death of one soldier portrayed by the viola) by poison gas. He also comes to reject the Romanticized notion about combat. I find this poem bitterly ironic because Owen was killed in combat one month before the Armistice. Genre Original Contains tracks The Great War (2014) I. Fanfare of Premonition by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:33Z The Great War (2014) II. Conflict by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:33Z The Great War (2014) III. An Honorable Death (?) by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:32Z The Great War (2014) IV. Resolution and Armistice by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:32Z
The Great War (2014) I. Fanfare of Premonition by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:33Z
The Great War (2014) III. An Honorable Death (?) by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:32Z
The Great War (2014) IV. Resolution and Armistice by Anthony L. Sanchez published on 2015-03-28T16:34:32Z