WW1 Composers

Friday 28 February 2014

The Royal College of Music has featured in two short BBC films exploring the legacy of World War One composers.

‘World War One’s Forgotten Composers’ is part of the BBC’s World War One Centenary Season, marking 100 years since the outbreak of the War. In the two films presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores the music composed during WW1, with particular reference to RCM composers Ivor Gurney and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The footage is filmed in the RCM’s entrance, Library and Museum and features the original score of Ivor Gurney’s War Elegy and a bust of Vaughan Williams, both items in the RCM’s Special Collections.

The RCM has also been commemorating WW1 with a ‘Europe in Music’ concert series drawing in music written during the four years of hostilities. The series concludes on Tuesday 4 March with a special performance of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, narrated by actor Edward Fox and featuring dancers from the Royal Ballet School.

World War One’s Forgotten Composers is available to watch on the BBC WW1 website now.