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. winikoff@gmail.com

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