The Great War (2014) by Anthony L. Sanchez

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.

Contains tracks

• The Great War (2014) I. Fanfare of Premonition by Anthony L. Sanchez
• The Great War (2014) II. Conflict by Anthony L. Sanchez
• The Great War (2014) III. An Honorable Death (?) by Anthony L. Sanchez
• The Great War (2014) IV. Resolution and Armistice by Anthony L. Sanchez