The Last Post

Music, Remembrance and the Great War


Cover of the book The Last Post by Alwyn W. Turner, Aurum Press
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Author: Alwyn W. Turner ISBN: 9781781313190
Publisher: Aurum Press Publication: October 16, 2014
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Alwyn W. Turner
ISBN: 9781781313190
Publisher: Aurum Press
Publication: October 16, 2014
Imprint:
Language: English

At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 11th November 1919 the entire British Empire  came to a halt  to remember the  dead of the Great War.

During that first two-minute silence all transport  stayed still, all work ceased and millions stood motionless in the streets. The only human sound to be heard was the desolate weeping of  those  overcome by grief.

Then the moment was brought to an end by the playing of the Last Post.

A century on,  that lone bugle call  remains the most emotionally charged piece of music in public life. In an increasingly secular society, it is the closest thing we have to a sacred anthem.  Yet along with  the poppy, the Cenotaph and  the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, its  power is profoundly modern.  It  is  a response to the trauma of war  that could only have evolved in  a democratic  age.

In this moving  exploration of the Last Post's history, Alwyn W. Turner  considers  the call's  humble origins and  shows how  its mournful simplicity reached beyond class, beyond religion, beyond patriotism to speak directly to peoples around the world. Along  the way he contemplates  the relationship between history and  remembrance, and  seeks out  the legacy of the  First World War in today's culture.       

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

At eleven o'clock on the morning of the 11th November 1919 the entire British Empire  came to a halt  to remember the  dead of the Great War.

During that first two-minute silence all transport  stayed still, all work ceased and millions stood motionless in the streets. The only human sound to be heard was the desolate weeping of  those  overcome by grief.

Then the moment was brought to an end by the playing of the Last Post.

A century on,  that lone bugle call  remains the most emotionally charged piece of music in public life. In an increasingly secular society, it is the closest thing we have to a sacred anthem.  Yet along with  the poppy, the Cenotaph and  the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, its  power is profoundly modern.  It  is  a response to the trauma of war  that could only have evolved in  a democratic  age.

In this moving  exploration of the Last Post's history, Alwyn W. Turner  considers  the call's  humble origins and  shows how  its mournful simplicity reached beyond class, beyond religion, beyond patriotism to speak directly to peoples around the world. Along  the way he contemplates  the relationship between history and  remembrance, and  seeks out  the legacy of the  First World War in today's culture.       

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