On November 11, 2018 the world will observe the 100th anniversary of the conclusion of “The War to End All Wars” with concerts, art exhibits, rallies and other events. With Heart and Voice, WXXI’s weekly radio program of sacred choral and organ music, will join this national observance with a special presentation of a concert by the Spire Chamber Ensemble, Sunday, November 11 at 8 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. on Classical 91.5
Hosted by the National World War One Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri and the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists, With Heart and Voice: Remembrance and Reconciliation airs Sunday, November 11 at 8 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. on Classical 91.5, and on public radio stations across the country (check local listings).
On November 11, 1918 at 11 a.m. – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – the Armistice that ended World War One was signed in Compiègne, France. More than four years of conflict in 40 countries resulted in nearly 16 million deaths, the development of new offensive weapons including poison gas, and the establishment of the League of Nations.
With Heart and Voice: Remembrance and Reconciliation will include the world premiere performance of The Great War Requiem by Ben Spalding (b. 1983) and excerpts from A Kipling Passion by John Muehleisen with narration by Matthew Naylor, President and CEO of the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The program honored Leonard Bernstein’s call to action, “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
With Heart and Voice: Remembrance and Reconciliation was the opening event of the 2018 American Guild of Organists National Convention, recorded at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. With Heart and Voice, hosted by Peter DuBois, is a production of WXXI Public Broadcasting in Rochester, New York.
