About this work: The work
Peace uses the poem of the same title by Robert A. Donaldson, a member of the American Field Service in France. The poem was written on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.
This musical setting incorporates ideas by the composers Luigi Dallapiccola and Johann Sebastian Bach.
In Dallapiccola’s opera Il Prigioniero, a prisoner (a Flemish prisoner under Phillip II of Spain) has been tortured in his cell. One day the guard calls him “brother,” causing him to hope. The door is left open, and the prisoner escapes. He sees the outside, and the chorus sings Domine Labia Mea Aperies. However, the Inquisitor then steps out of hiding, and the prisoner is taken off to be executed. For him, the only freedom can be at the execution stake, and this last hope was the culmination of his torture. In many ways, there are similarities with the prisoner in the opera and world at the end of World War I. The world thinks it is free, that peace has come at last - but really it has not, because 20 years later the world will be at war again. In this way the poem bears a similarity to the prisoner before he realizes he is not free. For these reasons, the tone row and sets used by Dallapiccola form the musical basis of this work.
In addition, also incorporated are portions of two chorale harmonizations by J.S. Bach. The first of these is Herr, nun laß in Frieden (Lord, let us now have peace). This was chosen since it is an appeal to peace. When it appears in this setting, however, only the outer voices have been retained, with one exception. The inner voices are harmonized with Dallapiccola’s tone row, in inversion on itself. One phrase appears as a separate musical layer as Bach set it. The second chorale harmonization used is Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (O Morning Star, how fair and bright). This appears when the poem refers to stars. Donaldson writes, “The old stars shine...” The world believes that on November 11, 1918, it has been given a chance to have things the way they were before the war - but in fact the Morning Star that day shines on a world which will never be the same again.
This work is from a set of 10 pieces, but may be performed independently. Contact the composer for more information.