When A Child Is A Witness – Requiem for Refugees
Winner of the Ivors Composer Awards 2022
Community and Participation category
“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”
Liz Dilnot Johnson with Chris Cobb and Gabriella Liandu © Mark Allan
The Community and Participation Award, presented by the Ivors Academy in association with ABRSM, was awarded to Liz Dilnot Johnson for When A Child Is A Witness – Requiem for Refugees. Written for choir, children’s choir, mezzo-soprano soloist, organ, piano, violin/Hardanger fiddle and refugee groups, the 100-minute requiem mass was commissioned by Ex Cathedra for Coventry’s City of Culture.
Using the themes of war, displacement, sanctuary and hope, the composer created space within the work for refugee groups to perform their own contributions of poetry, music and songs.
More about the work
Liz Dilnot Johnson's multi-dimensional work aims to raise awareness of the plight of refugees. Watch the trailer here.
“[the] beautiful Lacrimosa could give Mozart a run for his money…”
Behind the Arras ***** review
“mesmerising … a most radiant and diverse body of music (and speech), that enhance one another”
Church Times review
This passionate, large-scale tapestry of music, words and song is a Requiem for Peace. The premiere of this new version brought together top UK choir Ex Cathedra with solo violin and Hardanger fiddle, children’s voices and chimes, Senegalese kora, visual art and poetry with the voices of those who are not always heard. Within the framework of Liz’s new choral setting of the Requiem Mass for the Dead there are a series of meditations, or ‘Windows’, of reflection on the theme of seeking and finding sanctuary. Each Window was created and performed by members of the local refugee community, accompanied by images of the beautiful windows of Coventry Cathedral and projections of artwork by Fion Gunn
“This celebration proved successful in involving many of Coventry’s diverse communities working together in the pursuit peace and reconciliation.”
Seen and Heard review
The solo violin threads through the work with music drawn from the Arabic tradition, using archive material from the David Fanshawe collection of field recordings from the Middle East in the 1960s.
Read more about the project in Liz’s series of blog posts.
Alongside Ex Cathedra, children from Ravensdale School and the Academy of Vocal Music, Carriers of Hope, Inini, Sharing Cultures supported by Belgrade Theatre and Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, the European Youth Music Refugee Choir, Inini, and Senagalese kora player Kadialy Kouyate performed on Saturday 26th February 2022 at Coventry Cathedral as part of the Coventry City of Culture.
The Immigrants No 2 2017 - Fion Gunn
Mums and children from Carriers of Hope performing their own songs in When A Child Is A Witness [Photo: Jayne Mapp]
Colwall Requiem for Aleppo - 2017 and the destruction of Aleppo
Originally commissioned by the amateur church choir of St James the Great, Colwall, with the title Colwall Requiem for Aleppo, this award-winning 90-minute work was first performed on Sunday 2 April 2017, conducted by Liz’s husband, Peter Johnson.
Violist Adam Römer worked closely with Liz to develop the solo music, in this version for the viola, which was then arranged as a work for viola Credo premiered by Adam in September 2017 at Elmslie House, Malvern.
Young musicians from local schools were involved in the first performance. Students from John Masefield High School, Ledbury and St Mary's RC High School, Hereford worked with Liz in five creative sessions to compose their own responses to the destruction of Aleppo and the Requiem. Their two pieces were: 'Anger' and 'The Fluttering of Doves'.
Children from Colwall C of E Primary School Choir also took part, singing two movements of the Requiem. They composed their own accompaniment to the music using hand chimes and bells bought as part of the project for the school. Thanks to the S and D Lloyd Charity for funding this part of the project.
A retiring collection raised over £2800 for Christian Aid Refugee Crisis Appeal.
Colwall Requiem for Aleppo was awarded first prize in the One Friday competition 2017, more info here.
When A Child Is A Witness expands the original work in every way, adding new choral music written especially for Ex Cathedra who commissioned the new version for this performance at the iconic building that is itself a symbol of peace and reconciliation: Coventry Cathedral. Liz has worked closely with the education and participation team at Ex Cathedra to develop links with refugee groups around Coventry, all of whom created new material performed with Ex Cathedra for on February 26th 2022
Watch the Ex Cathedra trailer here
“It was beautiful, and also moving. I can’t remember the last time I actually dripped tears during a concert. ”
“It was a stunning and moving act of worship with a full-to-capacity church... Those present were clearly gripped by all they heard, the stillness in the church was tangible... We experienced a diverse harmony of musical forms going beyond the traditional Latin requiem, to haunting viola... to gospel, to folk... Few people can have gone away without felling their hearts had been touched and some form of connection made to their fellow Syrian humankind.”