The Diggers Requiem – A moving Brass tribute to those who sacrificed so much

The Diggers‚Äô Requiem is a moving and beautiful Australian tribute to mark the end of World War One a century ago and is dedicated to the memory of our Defence Force personnel and civilian victims. Including music written by seven of Australia‚Äôs finest living composers, these prelude concerts will be performed in Melbourne on Wednesday, 26 September and in Sydney on 27 September, with an Australian premiere of the full orchestral and choral version premiere concert in Canberra on Saturday 6 October 2018. The Diggers’ Requiem was co-commissioned by the Australian Department of Veterans‚Äô Affairs and the Australian War Memorial, with the Brass concerts supported by the Australian Defence Force.
The Melbourne and Sydney concerts will feature 12 works accompanied by projected historical imagery. These brass concerts have been written for trumpet, accordion, soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone, bagpipes and brass band and will be performed by leading soloists, including Paul Goodchild trumpet (Aus), David Novak accordion (Slovenia), Simone Riksman soprano (Holland), Christina Wilson mezzo (Aus), Andrew Goodwin tenor (Aus), David Hidden baritone, Jason Craig bagpipes (Aus) and will be Directed by Christopher Latham.

The concerts will be free for audiences and will be held in Melbourne at St Paul’s Cathedral, 209 Flinders Lane at 7pm and in Sydney at the Pitt Street Uniting Church, 264 Pitt Street at 7pm. The duration will be 80 minutes with no interval.

We welcome all Australians to join us for this special Brass tribute to those who sacrificed so much a century ago.

For further information, including composer’s biographies and background to the making of this concert series, please visit theflowersofwar.org.

The Melbourne and Sydney concert repertoire:

GF Handel Dead March from Saul
FS Kelly The Somme Lament
Nigel Westlake / Alex Lithgow The Liberation of Bapaume
Elena Kats-Chernin Lacrimosa
Richard Mills The Charge at Beersheba
Elena Kats-Chernin The Silent Field
Nigel Westlake I Was Blinded, But Now I See
Andrew Schultz Harmonium Bellum
Graeme Koehne Pie Jesu
John Grant Lament for the Pipers Who Fell in the Great War
Ross Edwards Lux Aeterna – In Paradisum
Christopher Latham Prayer for Peace – Pie Jesu II

For further information or opportunities to become involved please contact:

Joanne Fisher
General Manager
Flowers of War Project
www.theflowersofwar.org

0438 952263
theflowersofwarmanager@gmail.com