Morning Heroes
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| Morning Heroes | |
|---|---|
| by Arthur Bliss | |
| Genre | Choral symphony |
| Text | Homer, Walt Whitman, Wilfred Owen, Li Tai Po, Robert Nichols |
| Language | English |
| Dedication | To the memory of Francis Kennard Bliss and all other comrades killed in battle |
Morning Heroes is a choral symphony by the English composer Arthur Bliss. The work received its first performance at the Norwich Festival on 22 October 1930, with Basil Maine as the speaker/orator.[1] Written in the aftermath of World War I, in which Bliss had performed military service,[2] Bliss inscribed the dedication as follows:
"To the Memory of my brother Francis Kennard Bliss and all other Comrades killed in battle"
The work sets various poems:[3][4]
- Homer, The Iliad, passages from Book VI (translation of W Leaf) and Book XIX (translation of Chapman)
- Walt Whitman, "Drum Taps"
- Wilfred Owen, "Spring Offensive"
- Li Tai Po
- Robert Nichols, "Dawn on the Somme"
The extracts are spoken by a narrator and sung by a large choir. Juxtaposing the harsh images of trench warfare with the epic heroes of Ancient Greece, the parallels Bliss draws are essentially romantic, and the work as a whole has been criticised as being rather complacent.[5] Bliss himself said that he suffered from a repeating nightmare about his war experiences and that the composition of Morning Heroes helped to exorcise this.[6][7]
