Sure of the sky, sure of the sun

Setting both English and German texts, Sure of the Sky, Sure of the Sun – Des Himmels sicher, der Sonne sicher is a haunting and moving reflection on the futility of war. The 5-minute piece for SATB choir and brass was premiered at one of the UK’s three main World War I centenary commemoration events on 4 August 2014. It was launched by the London Symphony Chorus, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Chor and Coldstream Guards, at a twilight event attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, and a number of world leaders, all gathered together in the tiny woodland cemetery of St Symphorien near Mons, Belgium – the resting place for the first and lastBritish, and the last Commonwealth, soldiers to die on the Western Front.
The texts are “May, 1915” by Charlotte Mew (1869-1928), and “To a Missing Friend” by Goldfeld, a German Jewish soldier killed in action, the poem was discovered by Jewish military historian, Peter C Appelbaum.