2. Remember not to forget

Taking inspiration from Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem (1962), this song tells the story of the night Coventry was bombed during WWII and reminds us of the importance of knowing our city’s history in order to shape a bright future. ​

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The most poignant song in the whole cantata which makes numerous demands on the voice and articulating words meaningfully: whispering and chanting, singing high and low, using a wide range of dynamics and expression. 
 
KS1  to sing/chant the ostinato. 
KS2 5/8 sections and lead the litany style list.   
Refrain: 'We are all shaped by history  is the main melody. 
Sections A - E:  Litany.  This has a repetitive structure detailing the devastating events of the Coventry                                 blitz 14th - 15th November 1940.
Ostinato:   Coventry’s burning... A series of phrases whispered, spoken or chanted over the litanies.
Section E:  Featuring lines from the war poetry of Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke.
Bar 139:      Father forgive  ~ inspired by the Coventry Litany of Reconciliation and chanted over a single                        sustained chord.
Moonlight Sonata: the name of the bombing raid and the inspiration for the ending.
 
Breathing is important; spaghetti singing and awareness of phrasing; step-by-step melody (conjunct notes); dynamics and expression.


Compose rhythmic riffs with 5 beats to fit with the ostinato rhythms.


​♫   Listen to Agnus Dei (Benjamin Britten).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flEp_xxer88 
       and/or Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven Piano Sonata 14).
💡  Read, recite or learn by heart one of the featured poems (Anthem for Doomed youth by Wilfred               Owen, The Soldier by Rupert Brooke).