| Main Performers | Miss Ida Cooper,
Mr William Heseltine,
Miss Olga Haley,
Mr Herbert Heyner - vocals |
| Orchestra or Band | Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra
Fanfare brass |
| Choirs | London Cenotaph Choir (1,000 voices):
Royal Choral Society,
Bach Choir,
Barclays Bank Choir,
Central London Choral Society,
Crystal Palace Choir,
Dulwich Philharmonic Society,
Ibis Musical Society,
Islington Choral Society,
London Choral Society,
People's Palace Choir,
Penge and District Choral Society,
Philharmonic Choir,
South London Philharmonic Society,
South-West London Choral Society,
Westminster Choral Society,
London Choir School |
| Set List | 'World Requiem', John Foulds |
| Royal Presence | HRH The Duke of York,
HRH The Duchess of York,
HRH Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll |
| Performance Notes | "On its first appearance a year ago "A World Requiem" was received with such a chorus of commendation by those who heard it or had read the score that the voices of the few who realized at once its inadequacy as music were drowned. Among them were some who refrained from raising their voices on grounds of public decency. Here they felt was a sincere effort to give expression to the thoughts out of many hearts. If the result was a failure they could only admire the courage which had risked failure on the greatest scale and in a great cause. Now, listening to it without the glamour of the first occassion, and presented to an audience which, though large, by no means filled the Albert Hall, the failure seemed almost too obvious to need pointing out. "A World Requiem" is officially described as "A Cenotaph in Sound"; if such as thing were possible Mr Foulds might have achieved his purpose. For a cenotaph is merely a symbol; it refuses any artistic presentation of the thoughts and feelings concentrated on it. Music cannot be merely a symbol; it must speak, and Mr Fould would have his music say all. We soon become conscious of how very little it does say. Once the ear has become accustomed to the solemn senation produced by certain salient chord progressions, and one is no longer overawed by the grandiloquence of its large-scale presentation, the poverty of the musical ideas and the empty spaces where there is no musical idea at all, but merely the declamation of words which carry hallowed associations, become painful. No doubt these annual celebrations will continue so long as they serve the social end to which they are directed. Each repetition, however, must, we fear, make the artistic barrenness of the work more evident.
The performance was praiseworthy, though not perfect at all points. The singers, both solo and choral, entered into the intention and did their utmost to interpret the work in the spirit of the dedication, that is, as "a tribute to the memory of the dead - a message of consolation to the bereaved of all countries."
(The Times, 12 November 1924, page 12)
According to the Daily Telgraph (3 November 1924) people present would include the Ambassadors of America, Belgium, Japan, and Portugal, the Ministers of the Argentine, Austria, Czecholslovakia, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey, the Charges d'Affaires of Hungary, Italy and Peru, the counsellors of the Bulgarian and Netherlands Legations, and the Military Attaches of Chile, France, Roumania, and Spain.
Field Marshal Earl Haig and his wife Countess Haig were present and received the High Commisioners and dignatories from Australia, South Africa, Newfoundland, India and New Zealand. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and his wife were also present. |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1924/43) |