Morning Heroes Explained

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]

Movements

The work falls into five sections, in the structure of a palindrome, with the first movement acting as a prologue, then fast, slow, and fast movements, and the final movement acting as an epilogue.^[7] The work includes the respective texts.:^[4]

• I: "Hector's Farewell to Andromache"
• II: "The City Arming"
• III: "Vigil" - "The Bivouac's Flame"
• IV: "Achilles goes to battle" - "The Heroes"
• V: "Now, Trumpeter, For Thy Close" - "Spring Offensive" - "Dawn on the Somme"

Recordings

• Chandos: Samuel West, narrator; BBC Symphony; BBC Symphony Chorus; Sir Andrew Davis, conductor.
• EMI Classics: John Westbrook, speaker; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir; Sir Charles Groves, conductor
• BBC Radio Classics: Richard Baker, speaker; BBC Symphony Chorus; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Sir Charles Groves, conductor^[8]
• Cala: Brian Blessed, speaker; East London Chorus, Harlow Chorus, East Hertfordshire Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Michael Kibblewhite, conductor

Notes and References

1. The Norwich Festival . The Musical Times . 71 . 1054 . 1081–1082 . 1 December 1930 . 10.2307/914304 . F.B. . The Musical Times, Vol. 71, No. 1054 . 914304.
2. Burn . Andrew . Rebel to Romantic: The Music of Arthur Bliss . The Musical Times . 132 . 1782 . 383–386 . August 1991 . 10.2307/965884 . The Musical Times, Vol. 132, No. 1782 . 965884.
3. Butcher . A.V. . Walt Whitman and the English Composer . Music & Letters . 28 . 2 . 154–167 . April 1947 . 10.1093/ml/XXVIII.2.154 . 855527.
4. Morning Heroes: A New Symphony by Arthur Bliss . The Musical Times . 71 . 1052 . 881–886 . 1 October 1930 . 10.2307/916872 . H.G. . The Musical Times, Vol. 71, No. 1052 . 916872.
5. Penguin Guide to Classical Music
6. Palmer . Christopher . Aspects of Bliss . The Musical Times . 112 . 1542 . 743–745 . August 1971 . 10.2307/954592 . The Musical Times, Vol. 112, No. 1542 . 954592.
7. Burn . Andrew . 'Now, Trumpeter for Thy Close': The Symphony Morning Heroes: Bliss's Requiem for His Brother . The Musical Times . 126 . 1713 . 666–668 . October 1985 . 10.2307/965037 . The Musical Times, Vol. 126, No. 1713 . 965037.
8. A studio recording made in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the composer's death. See the BBC Radio Classics 15656 9199-2 CD booklet note by John Mayhew, page 3: "This recording was made more than ten years after the commercial record made in Liverpool by Sir Charles Groves, at a BBC Invitation Concert in Studio One at Maida Vale in March 1985."