Hi dear friends,
In 2011 I wrote a concert overture called '1918'. At that time I could only dream of the instrumental/orchestral means we dispose of today. That's why I thought it necessary to revise that composition thouroughly and set it to all VSL instruments.
The work is an evocation of the end of World War I (1918) and all the mixed feelings about the many losses of young lives, about the fear for modern warfare, about the joy at the end of that horrible war, about the stopping of the never ending bombings in our region. I wanted to evoke the uncertainty and doubts, the tremendous grief, the respect for the young fallen heroes, the pride of my nation and of all countries from over the world that came to help us and had so many sacrifices to bear...
As a tribute 100 years later, the concert overture originated. Because of the narrow sounding 1918, I gave it a new title: The Last Post - 1918. Ever since the end of that war, a number of clarion players have been playing that tune (which you can hear at the end of the composition) every single day under the Menin Gate at Ypres (25 kms from where I live) without exception at 8 pm, in honour of all the fallen soldiers, named and nameless. That ritual was only interrupted during WW II and started again immediately after the war.
Please feel free to comment.
Max
