Composers in the Turmoil of the Great War

"Les compositeurs dans la tourmente de la Grande Guerre" (Composers in the Turmoil of the Great War)

In 1916, Debussy wrote his "Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maison" (Christmas carol for children who no longer have a home), Manuel de Falla composed a "prayer" for the mothers who lost their sons in the war. During the same years, Cécile Chaminade and Frank Bridge spoke of "waiting" and the feeling of love. These pieces were all written between 1914 and 1918, during the First World War.

The featured composers hail from across Europe and each, in their own way, experienced this dark period. Some explicitly depicted the events, others evoked death through timeless poems, and a few continued their artistic work, sometimes with lightness and humor, while disregarding the historical context.

Testimony, catharsis, refuge: as many approaches as there are artists.

Armelle Humbert, soprano
Aurélie Courtot, piano