Hall of Memory - Liz Lane

Lane, Liz

Abstract

Hall of Memory is written in response to the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, Ypres, Belgium, to those who lost their lives in the Ypres Salient of World War 1, those that knew them, and those who have since visited and have been touched by the building and what it stands for. The actual Hall of Memory contains the names of the 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who died and whose bodies have never been found or identified; although the Hall does not contain all of the names (there were too many), it is a symbol of the immense scale of the tragedy of this and other wars.

In my musical vision, I pictured a little bird (heard in the flutes and glockenspiel) flying around the Hall, representing a worldwide symbol of hope and freedom. Although Hall of Memory is appropriately and necessarily solemn for the most part, sunlight and a chorale-like melody breaks through towards the end and this also represents hope for peace.

'Hall of Memory' was commissioned by the Gloucestershire Youth Symphonic Wind Band with support from the Arts Council for England and first performed by the Gloucestershire Youth Symphonic Wind Band, conductor Ian Holmes, in Brussels Cathedral, Ghent Cathedral and the Menin Gate Memorial for the Missing, Belgium, July 2013.

• Other Type: Composition
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/936208