Community & Business
23 July, 2024
Symphony of talents unite for ‘Grant Us Peace’
Several local musicians and vocalists featured in the Toowoomba Philharmonic Society’s moving performances of ‘Grant Us Peace’ over the weekend, in a proud display of local talent that moved its audience to tears.
The concert featured Dona Nobis Pacem (Latin for ‘grant us peace’), a cantata composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1936, as a plea for peace amid
the growing tensions preceding the Second World War.
“The audience’s response was just amazing,” choir alto Robbie Daley said.
“There were quite a few people in tears by the end.”
The performances over the weekend highlighted messages of harmony and tranquility, with a reminder that the pursuit of peace in this world is just as relevant now, as it was when the cantata was composed 88 years ago.
“The fourth movement was very poignant when the Angel of Death comes,” Ms Daley said.
“It was very impactful on the audience.
“Then it finished with a whisper, and there was no movement or voices, it was absolutely still.”
Ms Daley revealed it was a challenging piece to learn as the melody doesn’t flow easily, and the topic of war and death, is a sensitive one.
Generally, the Toowoomba Philharmonic Society’s performances are choral pieces with piano accompaniment, but this particular event recruited orchestra members that included musicians from Pittsworth’s community band, Black Inc.
Bassoon player Peta Watt, clarinet player Tiffany Holley from Millmerran, and the Peters family from Norwin featured in the orchestra.
Music is a family affair in the Peters household.
The family of musicians are proficient in cello, trumpet, trombone, viola, double bass, violin, flute, piano and saxophone.
Lance Peters learned piano in school, saxophone and pipe organ at Concordia College, and only studied double bass later in life when his children were in school learning their own instruments.
Mr Peters’ nephews are also part of Black Inc.
In 2022, the family featured in the Toowoomba Philharmonic Society’s performance of Handel’s Messiah.
Murray French from Pittsworth was a tenor in the choir over the weekend.
As well as being a member of the Toowoomba Philharmonic Society, he is part of the local choral group Take Note, alongside Ms Daley.
Andrew Doecke was accompanist for the performances and has recently joined Take Note as conductor.
There were six movements throughout the ‘Grant Us Peace’ performances:
The first movement was a combination of choir and orchestra working together to show a growing desperation for peace;
In the second movement the noise, intensity, and turbulence of war could be heard;
The third movement shifted into mourning and reflected upon reconciliation;
The fourth movement was a reflection on the cost of war;
The fifth movement was a scene of hopelessness and the perception of no protection from the calamity sweeping the land;
The sixth and final movement aspired to a future without conflict.
The performance high-lighted the power of music in storytelling and the pertinence of a theme like ‘peace’.
The Black Inc. members are now preparing for the upcoming Pittsworth State School musical ‘Lost Paradise: The Garden that Time Forgot!’ which will take place on Friday 16 August in the Town Hall.
Members of Take Note are rehearsing for their next performance which will be at the Function Centre on November 10.
Background of Composer
Ralph Vaughan Williams was one of England’s leading composers when he volunteered for the British Army in the First World War.
He was assigned to an ambulance company and his experience of combat, and memories of war, are what brought forth his great masterpiece, Dona Nobis Pacem.
Vaughan Williams’ career as a composer yielded nine symphonies and several concertos.
Several poems by Walt Whitman were used as lyrics in Vaughan Williams’ famous cantata.
Much of Whitman’s writing reflects his own experiences in the American Civil War.
Whitman set off on his own journey when his brother, a soldier, was injured in the war.
He travelled on foot and eventually reached said brother, but not before witnessing the horrific conditions of military hospitals, which persuaded Whitman to volunteer as a nurse.
The first edition of his poetry collection “Leaves of Grass”, reflected Whitman’s ardent love of life and intense desire for peace.
Whitman’s poems included in the movements of the Dona Nobis Pacem are “Dirge for Two Veterans”, “Beat, Beat, Drums”, and “Leaves of Grass”.
