Anthem for Doomed Youth
Text: Wilfred Owen
Music: Michael Winikoff
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Image:%22Anthem_for_Doomed_Youth%22_by_Wilfred_Owen_%28English%29.jpg
Performance Notes
The poem Anthem for Doomed Youth paints in vivid imagery the funeral ofsoldiers in the great war.
Those who fall like cattle do not have the usual trappings of a funeral: passingbells, prayers, bells, mourning voices, bugles or candles. Instead, they haveonly the guns’ monstrous anger, and the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle. Thevoice of mourning is that of the shrill demented choirs of wailing shells.
I have set this text as a funeral march which follows Wilfred Owen’s text andpaints the guns’ rapid rattle, the bugles, and the wailing demented choirs. Themarch closes with a quiet a capella section, bringing peace to the fallen.
Like Owen’s poem, I hope this piece of music manages to evoke the horrificnature of war, and perhaps encourage us all (and especially our leaders,elected or otherwise) to try harder to avoid war and seek peaceful solutionsinstead.
The piece was composed in 1995 and revised in February 2008
Performance notes:
The pianist should add octaves as appropriate to the acoustics and volume ofthe choir.
In bars 18-21 each singer should freely repeat the words “rapid rattle” overand over at their own individual speed until they cut off (at the start of bar 21for sopranos and altos, and at the end of that bar for tenors and basses).
Michael Winikoff
February, 2008
Melbourne, Australia
Anthem for Doomed Youth
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?Only the monstrous anger of the guns.Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattleCan patter out their hasty orisons.No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyesShall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Piano
8
24
24
24
24
24
24
Grave, = 52
pp
What
p
What
p
simil.
-pas sing bells,
-pas sing bells,
What -pas sing
p
for these who
What -pas sing
p
for these who
bells, for
die
bells, for
die
these who die
as -cat tle
these who die
as -cat tle
7
8
as
as -cat tle
as
as -cat tle what
-cat tle as
as -cat tle
-cat tle
-pas sing bells
-cat tle
-on ly the
-on ly the
as
as -cat tle
-mons trous
-mons trous
-cat tle
-an ger
-an ger
of the
f
of the
f
of the guns of the
f
of the guns of the
f
Anthem for Doomed YouthWilfred Owen (1893-1918) Composed 1995, revised February 2008. Duration: approx. 5:10 Michael Winikoff
http://www.winikoff.net/music 1995 Michael Winikoff. All rights reserved. [email protected]
13
8
guns
guns
guns
guns
as -cat tle
-on ly
-on ly
-on ly
-on ly the
3
-on ly the
3
-on ly the
3
-on ly the3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’
3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’3 3
-stut -ter ring -ri fles’
3 3
rapid rattle ...
ff
rapid rattle ...
ff
rapid rattle ...
ff
rapid rattle ...
ff
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
20
8
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
can
p
can
p
... rapid rattle ...
... rapid rattle ...
-pat ter out
-pat ter out
their -has ty
their -has ty
their -has ty
p
-o -ri sons
-o -ri sons
-o -ri sons
rit.
( )
no
pp
no
pp
28
8 no
no
34
34
34
34
34
34
-mo -cke ries for( )
-mo -cke ries for( )
no
no
them no
them no
prayers nor
( )
prayers nor
prayers nor
( )
prayers nor
( )
24
24
24
24
24
24
bells
A little faster ( = 58)
bells
bells
bells
nor
mf
nor
mf
nor
mf
nor
mf
34
8
-a ny voice
-a ny voice
-a ny voice
-a ny voice
of -mour ning
of -mour ning
of -mour ning
of -mour ning
save
save
save
save
the -cho irs
the -cho irs
the -cho irs
the -cho irs
Ah
the shrill -de
the shrill -de
the shrill -de
-men ted choirs of
-men ted choirs of
-men ted choirs of
42
8
Ah
wail
wail
wail
ling
ling
ling
f
shells
f
shells
f
shells
f
Ah
and
38
38
38
38
38
38
-bu gles
50
8 -bu gles
-bu gles
58
58
58
58
58
58
-cal ling
-cal ling
-cal ling
-cal ling and
38
38
38
38
38
38
-bu gles
( )
( )
( )
-bu gles
-bu gles
-bu gles
-cal
ff
-cal
ff
-cal
ff
-cal
ff
ling
ling
ling
ling
34
34
34
34
34
34
60
8
34
34
34
34
34
34
-cal ling for
mp tempo I ( = 52)
-cal ling for
mp
-cal ling for
mp
-cal ling for
mp
them from
them from
them from
them from
sad
sad
sad
sad
24
24
24
24
24
24
shires
p
shires
p
shires
p
shires
p
as -cat tle -ra pid
whispered
as -cat tle -ra pid
whispered
67
8
-rat tle as -cat tle
-rat tle as -cat tle
Ah
-rap id -rat tle
-rap id -rat tle
as -cat tle
as -cat tle
Ah
as
Spoken
as
Spoken -cat tle -rap id -rat tle -ra pid
-cat tle -rap id -rat tle -ra pid
-rat tle as -cat tle
-rat tle as -cat tle
what
73
8
-ra pid
-ra pid
-pas sing bells
Ah
-rat tle as -cat tle
-rat tle as -cat tle
for
Ah
these who die
-ra pid -rat tle -ra pid -rat tle
-ra pid -rat tle -ra pid -rat tle
Sung
what -pas sing
-on ly
gradual cresc.
bells
gradual cresc.
34
34
34
34
34
34
79
8
34
34
34
34
34
34
-on ly -on ly the
3
for those who
24
24
24
24
24
24
-stut -te ring -ri fles’
3 3
die as -cat tle
as -cat tle
as -cat tle
as -cat tle -ra pid -rat tle
as -cat tle -ra pid -rat tle
as -cat tle
and -bu gles
mf
as -cat tle
85
8-bu gles
-on ly
-on ly
-on ly the3
-on ly -on ly the3
as
sp
as -cat tle
sp
-mons trous
sp
-mons trous
sp
-cat tle
and -bu gles
-an ger
-an ger
of the
f
of the
f
of the guns of the
f
of the guns of the
f
guns
guns
guns
guns and
38
38
38
38
38
38
-bu gles
92
8 -bu gles
-bu gles
58
58
58
58
58
58
-cal ling
ff
-cal ling
ff
-cal ling
ff
-cal ling and
ff
38
38
38
38
38
38
-bu gles
( )
( )
( )
-bu gles
-bu gles
-bu gles
-cal
fff
-cal
fff
-cal
fff
-cal
fff
ling
ling
ling
ling
34
34
34
34
102
8
34
34
34
34
what -can dles may be
3mp = 42
what -can dles may be
3mp
24
24
24
24
held to speed them
held to speed them
all?
all?
34
34
34
34
Not in the hands of
24
24
24
24
boys but in their
3
34
34
34
34
shall
eyes( )
Mm
mp
24
24
24
24
108
8
24
24
24
24
shine the
( )
shine the
ho ly
-ho ly
-glim mers of -good
-glim mers of -good
34
34
34
34
byes The
byes The
( )
64
64
64
64
-pal lor of girls’ brows shall
-pal lor of girls’ brows shall
34
34
34
34
113
8
34
34
34
34
be their
be their
54
54
54
54
pall
pall
shall be their
shall be their
34
34
34
34
their
their
pall their( )
pall their
24
24
24
24
flowers the
flowers the
flowers the
flowers the
34
34
34
34
117
8
34
34
34
34
-ten -der ness of -pa tient
-ten -der ness of -pa tient
-ten -der ness of -pa tient
-ten -der ness of -pa tient
24
24
24
24
minds and
Slower
minds and
minds
minds
each slow dusk a
each slow dusk a
Mm
Mm
-dra wing down of
rit.
-dra wing down of
blinds
blinds