The Last Post: Music, Remembrance and the Great War

The Last Post: Music, Remembrance and the Great War

At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 11th November 1919 the entire British EmpireÂ came to a haltÂ to remember theÂ dead of the Great War.

During that first two-minute silence all transportÂ stayed still, all work ceased and millions stood motionless in the streets. The only human sound to be heard was the desolate weeping ofÂ thoseÂ overcome by grief.

Then the moment was brought to an end by the playing of the Last Post.

A century on,Â that lone bugle callÂ remains the most emotionally charged piece of music in public life. In an increasingly secular society, it is the closest thing we have to a sacred anthem.Â Yet along withÂ the poppy, the Cenotaph andÂ the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, itsÂ power is profoundly modern.Â ItÂ isÂ a response to the trauma of warÂ that could only have evolved inÂ a democraticÂ age.

In this movingÂ exploration of the Last Post's history, Alwyn W. TurnerÂ considersÂ the call'sÂ humble origins andÂ shows howÂ its mournful simplicity reached beyond class, beyond religion, beyond patriotism to speak directly to peoples around the world. AlongÂ the way he contemplatesÂ the relationship between history andÂ remembrance, andÂ seeks outÂ the legacy of theÂ First World War in today's culture.
Country USA
Manufacturer Aurum
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-10-16
Format Kindle eBook

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