Dulce et Decorum Est

Orchestral piece inspired by Wilfred Owen's famous war poem.

2 2 2 3 [3: cbn] - 4 3 3 1 - tmp + 3 - str

Duration c. 5.5 mins

Programme note

An orchestral piece based on the World War I poem by Wilfred Owen. The main theme is a grotesque caricature of a martial fanfare, as a musical analogue to the way that Owen sees the saying "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" as a grotesque caricature of the purpose of war. This theme is heard in the opening section from a trio of trumpets, with lower strings depicting the soldiers' weary marching.

The middle section carries over the same theme into a chaotic maelstrom of sound, representing the tragic chaos of a gas attack.

After three soloists play an elegy for the man lost to gas, the trudging resumes - because what else can the men do? - and the grotesque fanfare makes its last sickly calls.