Category Archives: arts and music

arts and music, battlefields, commemoration, film and TV, military, schools, war memorials

Battle of the Somme

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sommeThe Battle of the Somme was fought in northern France over 141 days in 1916, from 1st July to 18th November, in a series of bloody and costly actions on this small section of the Western Front. The centenary in 2016 will be marked by a number of commemorative events across the UK and in France itself.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport news release describes plans for commemorations at national and international levels, and encourages the development of local events. A high-level international commemorative event will take place at Thiepval Memorial in France on 1st July 2016, with participation by representatives of many nations.

In Scotland a national vigil service will be held at the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh through the night of 30th June / 1st July. In the coming months, other vigils will be staged at locations around Scotland organised by regimental associations and others to tie in with key dates and battles involving individual regiments.

New education resources will assist teachers who want to help their students learn about the nature and importance of this particular campaign. The National Army Museum resource includes a video about the battle; PowerPoint slides which offer photographs and images from 1916 with detailed captions, which can be re-used by teachers. (such as the image used in this blog post, by kind permission); and NAM also offers downloadable exhibition panels to which local material can be added. A British Council pack ‘Remembering the Battle of the Somme’ offers material for wider aspects of the fighting.

There are many online assets which cover aspects of the conflict. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a dedicated Somme site. Imperial War Museum covers the history in text, images and audio. The BBC iWonder resource “Why was the Battle of the Somme film bigger than Star Wars” discusses the huge public appeal of a 1916 documentary film shown in cinemas, which has now been digitally re-produced and made available by Imperial War Museum for showings in local venues. A BBC news video clip describes one section of the tunnels under the battlefield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

arts and music, commemoration, military, schools

Dazzle Ship Scotland

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dazzle ship leithScotland now has its own Dazzle Ship, berthed in the Prince of Wales dock in the port of Leith. The inspiration for this particular vessel’s design comes from artist Ciara Phillips, who was co-commissioned by Edinburgh Art Festival and 14-18 Now. A BBC news story describes the work.

Phillips’s work is entitled “every woman” and celebrates the roles played by women during the war; for example, as painters in the shipyards implementing dazzle designs on warships.

Edinburgh Art Festival staff are developing a Learning programme to engage children and young people with the ideas behind the project and encourage visits to the ship. This includes an introductory guide for teachers, and teacher workshops; a Family “Dazzle Day Out” will take on Sunday 19th June 2016 from 1300-1600. Further activities will follow over the summer. During the Festival there will also be a Dazzle Hub in a shop unit at Ocean Terminal shopping centre. Contact the EAF team for more details.

Financial support for this project was provided by 14-18 Now, the UK-wide cultural programme which marks the centenaries of World War One with a series of artistic and cultural projects specially commissioned to engage the public and create an artistic legacy.  The Tower of London poppies are the best-known of previous projects, with a range of other successful projects and more work still in process and to be commissioned.

The original Dazzle concept was a response by artist Norman Wilkinson to World War One submarine warfare in the Atlantic and the threat to British shipping. Ships which were repainted in dazzle designs were thought to confuse the German U-boat submariners trying to target ships for torpedo attack. A BBC iWonder resource “How did an artist help Britain fight the war at sea” describes this work.

 

arts and music, exhibitions, museums and archives

Next of Kin exhibition touring Scotland

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next of kinThe ‘Next of Kin’ exhibition developed by National Museums of Scotland and presented at the National War Museum in Edinburgh is touring venues in Scottish towns and cities. The touring programme includes learning activities at each museum, using a object handling resource aimed at school and community groups.

A recent blog post describes the activities that took place during the exhibition’s stay in Dumfries, and its new residency at Rozelle House in Ayr. The website has been updated; a new resource section provides links to online resources created for the project, and the learning programme section provides information about associated learning activities at each museum, and will be updated for each venue.

 

arts and music, commemoration, exhibitions, museums and archives

Families and the Great War

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next of kinThe ‘Next of Kin’ exhibition developed by National Museums of Scotland and presented at the National War Museum in Edinburgh has now embarked on a tour of Scottish venues which continues until May 2017. The touring programme includes learning activities at each museum, using a object handling resource aimed at school and community groups.

Its materials, objects and images give a powerful insight into the lives of some of the individuals and familes who felt the impact of the war. Personal stories are used by many educators as a means of illuminating the realities of the war and also helping to make sense of the huge numbers involved as combatants and  casualties.

A blog post describes the contents of the object handling resource, and gives examples of how it has been used to engage groups of pupils.

 

arts and music, commemoration

Pack Up Your Troubles: music and WW1

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Why do we remember the poets and not the composers of WW1? The poets of WW1 – Sassoon, Owen, Blunden – have acquired an almost celebrity status. Books about the war such as All Quiet on the Western Front and A Farewell to Arms have become bestsellers. But the work of composers who fought in the trenches has largely been forgotten.

Before the war, music halls were a popular form of entertainment but there was also a thriving classical musical scene. Gramophones were expensive and the radio had yet to be invented, so to listen to music the public had to attend concerts. And they had a rich variety to choose from.

Explore some of the classical sounds from World War One with this brilliant resource from the BBC –http://bit.ly/WW1classical

A more detailed examination of war composers can be found here – http://www.warcomposers.co.uk/

BBC Radio 3 offer lots of sound clips revealing the different tastes in classical music ‘on the brink’ of war in 1914. Music is featured from London, Vienna, Berlin and St Petersburg – http://bit.ly/music1914

The Choir presenter Gareth Malone examines why ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’ became the viral hit of World War One. http://bit.ly/packupyourtroubles

Almost 100 years after it was written, the tune and lyrics remain with us long after the guns of World War One have fallen silent. A firm favourite in its day with troops on the Western Front as well as their families back at home, its popularity didn’t stop there. ‘Pack Up Your Troubles’ went on to enjoy success in Hollywood films, Broadway musicals and even made an appearance in the UK top ten chart as recently as 2010.

It’s been translated into Dutch, German and Spanish, becoming a truly global hit. But in the midst of a world war, what was it about this song in particular that made it such a huge success?

On Firstworldwar.com there is an excellent archive of popular music and other sound recordings spanning the years of the war. http://bit.ly/WW1music

Recently, contemporary music groups from both the UK and Germany have been commissioned to write soundtracks for World War One exhibitions and commemorations.

In late 2011 tindersticks were commissioned by the In Flanders Fields World War One museum in Ypres, Belgium to provide the soundscape for the new permanent exhibition being planned to commemorate the centenary of the Great War and beyond.

Ypres was the epicenter of the Western Front in The Great War and was virtually destroyed by the conflict. It has since been rebuilt to its original plans, finished only relatively recently. The museum is housed in the rebuilt cloth hall that stands in the centre of the town and was once the hub of the towns industry.

Hundreds of thousands died in Ypres and the surrounding area. Allied cemeteries and graves are everywhere. It is overwhelming. The work is an evolving soundtrack to the visitors journey through the exhibition. The music in the museum loops seamlessly all day, everyday. It is music without a beginning , middle or end.

Listen to one of the haunting tracks from the album here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DWPbkm2TIE

The famous Berlin avant-garde group, Einstürzende Neubauten, has composed a completely new piece of music to perform live at the commemoration of The Fall of Diksmuide.

On 10 November 1914 the Belgian bridgehead of Diksmuide fell into German hands after a brief battle involving troop movements. During the subsequent few years Diksmuide continued to form part of the German line, and the town was reduced to rubble and bomb craters from persistent Belgian artillery fire and bombardments.

The members of Einstürzende Neubauten ‘literally’ deconstruct old objects, meanings, history and buildings and convert them into a new futuristic sound. You can see them perform the work in its entirety here – Lament by Einstürzende Neubauten.

arts and music, exhibitions, libraries, museums and archives

World War One exhibitions

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Many Scottish museums, archives and libraries are already staging exhibitions that relate to the Scottish experience of World War One. National and local collections hold an extraordinary range of photos, documents, and artworks which relate to aspects of the war. Here’s a selection of some of the powerful and informative shows that are on offer to the public now, and which would enhance the learning of young people studying the history of the war.

Glasgow City’s People Palace museum has an exhibition of the work of Fred Farrell,  Glasgow’s own official war artist who was commissioned by the City Council to record images from the Western Front. His sketches and drawings are well presented with background material to give extra context.

At the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh is an exhibition called ‘Behind the Lines’ which uses personal stories and documents to illuminate key aspects of the war through individual lives. The richness of the exhibition’s assets and presentation provides a powerful introduction to the subject.

At the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh the ‘Common Cause’ exhibition tells the story of the experiences of combatants of Scots ancestry who came back to fight for Britain in the campaigns in France, Belgium, Turkey and elsewhere. The Scottish diaspora responded strongly to the declaration of war, and soldiers and regiments from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Canada and the Indian subcontinent made a big contribution to the war effort.

arts and music, commemoration, military

World War One begins

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One hundred years ago, on 4th August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany, joining the conflict that became known as the Great War, the First World War and World War One. In the period 2014-2019 we will be commemorating some of the key anniversaries from WW1, both the military actions and some aspects of the war effort back in Britain.

Three major events yesterday formed the first element of the commemoration period.

In Scotland a service at Glasgow Cathedral gave a particular focus to the contribution of Commonwealth nations in support of Britain throughout the war. The service included a personal response from one Scottish student who had visited the battlefields of Flanders with a school group.

At St.Symphorien military cemetery in Belgium international leaders gathered to mark the start of WW1, close to the town of Mons where the first major battle involving the British Expeditionary Force took place.

At Westminster Abbey in London the day concluded with a service and candle-lit vigil. A BBC news story covers some of the day’s activity.

Across the UK a special “Lights Out” initiative led by the Royal British Legion marked the start of the war. It was inspired by remarks made on 4th August 1914 by the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, about Europe entering a period of darkness. Many public buildings were darkened to support this very visual reminder.

Further actions are taking place all over the country, and show a variety of creative responses to the desire for respectful commemoration. For example, a field of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, and a beacon of white light in Westminster. A cultural programme titled ’14-18 Now’ is supporting contemporary artists to reflect on the First World War and its meaning for the public today. 

The lead-up to war, sparked by the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist in June 1914, was a period of weeks during which the combatant nations failed to achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Both sides in the war had complicated sets of treaties between nations for mutual support in case of war. The German Army’s invasion of Belgium, as a prelude to an attack on France, brought Britain into the conflict through a treaty to protect Belgian neutrality. The alliances ensured that huge numbers of people were drawn into the war by their governments, both as military combatants and on the Home Fronts. Another consequence was that the war was a global one, with fighting in many countries and on the seas, and campaigns involving troops from many nations.

Scottish regiments and divisions were a key component of many campaigns throughout the war, not solely the fighting on the Western Front in Belgium and France. Scots were also well-represented in the Royal Navy and Merchant navy war effort.

Many new resources are coming online to tell parts of the history of WW1 and its impacts at home and overseas. We will use this blog to highlight assets, stories and activities which will be of particular use to teachers and learners.

arts and music, exhibitions, libraries, museums and archives

Exhibitions

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Many Scottish organisations at national and local level are planning to run exhibitions as part of their commemoration activity. These exhibitions and associated events such as public lectures will focus on particular aspects of World War One and increase public understanding of the conflict and its impacts. Such exhibitions will form very useful assets for learning about WW1, and some will be accompanied by new educational activities and workshops designed to enhance the learning of pupils and/or adults. Details of forthcoming exhibitions are now becoming public, as organisers announce their programmes for the years ahead. We will use this blog to publicise exhibitions and encourage teachers and students to engage with the material on offer. Now, two examples:

At the Scottish National Portrait Gallery an exhibition titled ‘Remembering the Great War’ will display paintings, photographs, sculpture and media relating to Scots who played some kind of role in the War in service or at home. These individuals will include Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Elsie Inglis, James Maxton, and Harry Lauder. The work of Scottish artists will also form a key part of the assets on show.

The National Museums of Scotland have published their programme for the First World War Centenary, with two major shows opening this year. At the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle, the ‘Next of Kin’ exhibition will focus on family life and personal loss. The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh will feature an exhibition titled ‘Common Cause: Commonwealth Scots and the Great War’, which will explore the contribution made by the Scottish diaspora and the impacts in Commonwealth nations such as Canada and Australia.

arts and music

Music and commemoration

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The songs and music of the First World War, from both popular entertainment of the time and songs ‘adopted’ by the military, still have the power to stimulate an emotional response. This was demonstrated last month by a performance of “Far Far from Ypres” at the Celtic Connections 2014 music festival in Glasgow. It included classics such as ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’ and ‘Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag’, and modern compositions like ‘And the band played Waltzing Matilda’ by Scots-born singer Eric Bogle.

“Far Far from Ypres” is a production which uses music from the period and more recent compositions to underpin the story of one Scottish serviceman who goes off to fight on the Western Front. Conceived and directed by Scottish folk singer Ian McCalman, this concert was a collaborative effort by a large number of Scottish musicians. The programme includes narration, poetry and a visual presentation of photos and images relevant to the themes.

A separate Schools performance of the show attracted around 1200 pupils and teachers to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and provided a highly-engaging experience for the young people. Thank you to all the artists and professionals that made this possible.

Mr McCalman is keen for Scottish schools to consider staging their own versions of this production, which can be adapted to include elements which have a strong local resonance such as additional Gaelic material or poems by a local writer. Any Scottish teacher who is interested in this opportunity should contact him by email at ypresconcert@hotmail.com

The soundtrack of an earlier form of “Far Far from Ypres” is also available on CD from online suppliers, and would help teachers grasp the range and creativity of the approach.