Colwall Requiem for Peace

Liz’s award-winning and moving choral music sets the words of the traditional Requiem Mass for the Dead with words from the Psalms and the Book of Common Prayer in a  seamless 75-minute tapestry of music that moves through different moods from darkness into light.  

Alongside the four part choir with piano and organ accompaniment there are three other sets of performers:

• a children’s choir

• a solo cello player

• people with lived experience of finding refuge

The Children’s Choir from Colwall Primary School and other local children sing music specially composed for them, leading the audience in communal songs: When A Child Is A Witness and Lighten Our Darkness where everyone is invited to join together in song.

The children accompany themselves with a set of handchimes and perform a piece they have composed themselves called Sanctus Bells.

The Cello plays music transcribed from different cultures and short meditations including traditional Arabic music collected by David Fanshawe in the 1970s. Thanks to Jane Fanshawe for access to the archive recordings.

People with lived experience of seeking and finding refuge were invited to share their own music, words and art. Abdullah Tamo is a young Kurdish singer originally from Syria who has now relocated to Malvern. He sang traditional Kurdish songs that melted the heart accompanied by saz player Waell Abdulkarem. We are grateful for Abdullah and Wael’s contribution along with other performers and artists from countries ravaged by war and political upheaval.

Liz worked with the young men following the performance in July 2023 to create words and images for a children’s book entitled We Wait Together.

The book was launched at Malvern Festival of Ideas 2024 and is available here All proceeds support the ongoing project supporting creative work with those seeking refuge in the UK.

‘It was beautiful, and also moving. I can’t remember the last time I actually dripped tears during a concert. And then she brought us back to a place of hope by the end of the piece so we were emotionally safe to head back into the real world.’

Liz Garnett, Helping You Harmonise, Colwall Requiem for Aleppo 2017

This piece brings people of all ages and backgrounds together to share music and words on the theme of seeking and finding refuge, and is the village version of When a Child is a Witness arranged for amateur 4-part choir. The most recent performance on Sunday 2nd July, 2023 took place at the Church of St James the Greater, Colwall, Herefordshire with performers from within the community including children from the local Primary School. Performing the open ‘windows’ sections of the work were three groups of people with lived experience of seeking refuge: refugees that have been welcomed and settled in the local area, Ukrainian children in the Talented Children of Ukraine in Malvern group, and a group of young men who are awaiting asylum claims, living in emergency accommodation in Worcestershire.

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Colwall Requiem for Peace (2023) (formerly entitled Colwall Requiem for Aleppo (2017), winner of the One Friday Award 2017) is the partner piece to the expanded 8-part version of the same music: When A Child Is A Witness that was commissioned and performed by Ex Cathedra at Coventry Cathedral in 2022. Winner of the Ivor Novello Composers Award for Community and Participation 2022 the jury called the work:

“an artistically ambitious and emotionally compelling work that is firmly rooted in the contributions of the participants…

evocative music with a purpose and meaningful sense of engagement”.

More information about the 8-part version When A Child Is A Witness - Requiem for Refugees here