Requiem for the Fallen

— In Flanders Fields —

The Military Doctor, John McCrae, wrote the famed wartime poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, in 1915, at the battlefront during WWI.

Decades later, as a teenager I read the poem and decided to ride my bike through the fields of crosses in ‘Flanders Fields’.

Years ago, I composed the Oratorio ‘Requiem for the Fallen’ as a tribute to the victims of foreign wars and to honor our veterans. I included ‘In Flanders Fields’ among the lyrics because these verses had struck me: ‘To you… we throw the torch; if ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep’. Freedom is not free.

During WWII, on D-day June 6, 1944, thousands of Allied soldiers and members of the resistance died in Normandy as they secured the beachhead that would lead to the freedom of Europe. The Fallen never knew what the world owes them or their sacrifice. That day still remains a most poignant symbol for mankind. . *** The Oratorio ‘Requiem for the Fallen’ was first played in 2018 in southwest France for the centennial of WWI. The mayors of two towns attended the event in the church of Saint-Clar, Fleurance. About every youth orchestra player had a relative who was a soldier in WWI. In 2019, the large version of the Oratorio premiered at Carnegie Hall, New York, with the Consul of Belgium in attendance.

In hope for peace, two more performances took place in Moscow. In 2020, the U.S. Embassy financed an event in commemoration of the WWII alliance; then, in December 2021, a concert took place in an art gallery downtown. Afterwards, guests waved ‘heart’ and ‘I love you’ signs over Zoom and a Bishop called the Oratorio ‘Music for Peace’. Ten weeks later, Ukraine was invaded, with no end in sight to a conflict that has made hundreds of thousands of victims.

The first piano Concerto ‘Imagine New York’ evoking Freedom and the Statue of Liberty, opened the 2021 concert. To keep expanding this image of hope and optimism, I composed the Alto Saxophone Concerto ’Springtime in Chicago’, followed In 2024 by the Cantata ‘The Bells of Hope’ and the Toccata ‘Resolve and Pride’ for piano, echoing the fiery spirit of resistance expressed in Frederic Chopin’s compositions as he witnessed the repeated invasions of Poland. . *** ‘Between War and Peace’, the 2025 percussive & melodic left hand piano concerto illustrates the willingness to find peace and joy. The concerto closes on a bolero dance contrasting with the description of war in the first part, rendered by percussive piano playing.

Art reflects the times of its creation and how tragic it is that works like the oratorio ‘Requiem for the Fallen’ reflects a world that cannot find the will to live in peace. . *** Videos of the Oratorio ‘Requiem for the Fallen’, the Piano Concerto ‘Imagine New York’ and other works are posted under VIDEOS. Since 2023, pandemic and wars have prevented additional events.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our places; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
in Flanders Fields.

by: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
MD (1872 – 1918)
Canadian Army