Dawn On The Somme

(4.8 stars; 3 reviews)

Kate Kennedy explores the Somme history and legacy through the lives of British composers and musicians who fought on the battlefields of Picardie in 1916. She follows in the footsteps of George Butterworth, Ivor Gurney, Arthur Bliss and his clarinettist brother Kennard, and Frederick Septimus Kelly. Some of them returned home, but others lost their lives. Through their own words and their music, Kate traces the human stories and examines some of the wider questions which historians still argue about today, and looks at the role which music plays in this complex narrative. With contributions from the historians Gary Sheffield and Marjolaine Boutet, the cultural historian Jay Winter and the director of the Historial Museum in Péronne, Hervé François. Sunday Feature Sunday 3 Jul 2016 18:45 BBC RADIO 3 Dawn on the Somme By Robert Nichols Last night rain fell over the scarred plateau And now from the dark horizon, dazzling, flies Arrow on fire-plumed arrow to the skies Shot from the bright arc of Apollo's bow; And from the wild and writhen waste below, From flashing pools and mounds lit one by one, O is it mist or are these companies Of morning heroes who arise, arise With thrusting arms, with limbs and hair aglow Toward the risen god, upon whose brow Burns the gold laurel of all victories, Hero and hero's god, th' invincible Sun?

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.