As the last notes die away, the audience bursts into applause. Musicians playing instruments as diverse as a ney, a didgeridoo, a Taonga Puoro (a traditional Maori wind instrument) and a harmonica, as well as a full orchestra and choir, rise to their feet.
The performance of the eleven-part Gallipoli Symphony in the surroundings of the 4th century Hagia Irene in Istanbul was the culmination of a ten-year project. Commissioned in 2006 by the Australian and New Zealand Governments, a new movement was performed in the hours prior to the Dawn Service at Gallipoli each Anzac Day since 2006. The movements were then re-worked and combined into a single symphonic composition in 2015 by Australian composer Graeme Koehne.
Each of the eleven movements of the symphony represent a phase of the Gallipoli campaign, including “Farewell”, “The Voyage”, The Landing”, “God Pity Us Poor Soldiers”, and “The Trenches Are Empty Now”. Each was the work of a different composer, from Turkey, New Zealand or Australia.
I had heard sections of the Symphony at the Dawn Services I had attended at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli in 2014 and 2015. They made an important contribution to the moving and evocative ceremony. But hearing the entire Symphony performed in the remarkable acoustic of one of the world’s most ancient buildings was a privilege; and the audience response was overwhelming.
The programme note say that “the Symphony tells the story of 1915 through music, reminding us of the horror and heartache of war and carrying a message of hope, peace, friendship and collaboration between nations.”
A splendid and timely message.
Follow Leigh Turner on Twitter at @leighturnerFCO