In 1914 the guns of August shattered the tranquility of Europe. The peace crafted at the Congress of Vienna in 1814, by master diplomats, Talleyrand, Metternich and Castlereagh, had lasted nearly 100 years. So skillful were their accomplishments that several generations of Europeans had know only peace. War was unimaginable. The continent lay in a lazy restful serenity. Within three years 25 million would die, casualties to a harsh and brutal trench war. An entire generation of young men decimated__ those left disillusioned. Trying to evoke the essence of this prewar serenity and naivete composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams, in 1920 wrote the doleful and tonally rich poem, "Lark Ascending,". Williams especially tried to portray with music the English countryside, its beauty and its tranquility on the eve of a terrible slaughter__ in no fewer than 22 years Europe would be at war again.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
MUSIC:Lark Ascending
In 1914 the guns of August shattered the tranquility of Europe. The peace crafted at the Congress of Vienna in 1814, by master diplomats, Talleyrand, Metternich and Castlereagh, had lasted nearly 100 years. So skillful were their accomplishments that several generations of Europeans had know only peace. War was unimaginable. The continent lay in a lazy restful serenity. Within three years 25 million would die, casualties to a harsh and brutal trench war. An entire generation of young men decimated__ those left disillusioned. Trying to evoke the essence of this prewar serenity and naivete composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams, in 1920 wrote the doleful and tonally rich poem, "Lark Ascending,". Williams especially tried to portray with music the English countryside, its beauty and its tranquility on the eve of a terrible slaughter__ in no fewer than 22 years Europe would be at war again.
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