C13 The Children’s Crusade

Benjamin Britten’s pacifist manifesto tells the story of 55 children orphaned at the outbreak of war in Poland in 1939, traversing the snow together, battling hunger and conflict as they search for a land where peace reigns.

Triggered by one of Berthold Brecht’s most poignant poems, Britten’s work is a stark reminder of the impact of war on children. Its message is sung by children: Canberra’s own Luminescence Children’s Choir.

Stories of children at war go back centuries, as do many folk and fairy tales. Charles Perrault’s collection of 1697 contains many of most popular fairy tales, from Sleeping Beauty to Red Riding Hood. They inspired Ravel to write one of his most magical scores.

The concert finishes with a recent rendition of a touching letter written by Sam Weiss’ great-grandmother to her little girl Nelly, as they were leaving Berlin in 1936.

Program

Maurice Ravel, Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite) (1910)

-interval-

Berthold Brecht, The Children’s Crusade (1939)

Benjamin Britten, The Children’s Crusade, based on B. Brecht (1969)

Sam Weiss, Deine Mami (2021)

Artists

Sally Walker, flute

James Wannan, viola

Luminescence Children’s Choir, directed by AJ America

Stephanie and Edward Neeman, piano

Veronica Milroy, organ

Veronica Bailey, Thomas Chalker, Valdas Cameron, Oliver Feitz, Demi Katheklakis and Emma Piva,  percussion

with

Christopher Carroll, narrator