Howard Goodall: Sure of the sky sure of the sun: Mixed Choir: Vocal Score

Setting both English and German texts Sure of the Sky Sure of the Sun Des Himmels sicher der Sonne sicher is a haunting and moving reflection on the futility of war. The 5-minute piece for SATB choir and brass was premiered at one of the UK s three main World War I centenary commemoration events on 4 August 2014. It was launched by the London Symphony Chorus Schleswig-Holstein Festival Chor and Coldstream Guards at a twilight event attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince Harry and a number of world leaders all gathered together in the tiny woodland cemetery of St Symphorien near Mons Belgium the resting place for the first and lastBritish and the last Commonwealth soldiers to die on the Western Front.The texts are May 1915 by Charlotte Mew (1869-1928) and To a Missing Friend by Goldfeld a German Jewish soldier killed in action the poem was discovered by Jewish military historian Peter C Appelbaum.