Memorial Tablet - Siegfried Sassoon

Great War Literature, in association with CD41, is pleased to be able to offer the first ever audio collection of readings by the celebrated writer and poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967).

Recorded in the 1950s, Sassoon himself reads three extracts from his autobiographical prose works Memoirs of an Infantry Officer and The Weald of Youth, detailing with the outbreak of war in 1914 and his experiences on the Somme in July 1916. He also recites ten of his best known war poems, including:
- The Dug-Out
- At Carnoy
- Attack
- Died of Wounds
- 12 Months After
- The Troops
- Memorial Tablet
- On Passing the New Menin Gate
- To One Who Was With Me in the War.

Also included are eight peacetime poems by Sassoon, as well as commentary on his life and work by three other celebrated Great War writers, Edmund Blunden, Edgell Rickword and Henry Williamson.

The sixty minute CD also features the very first recording of Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto, made in December 1916 with Marie Hall on violin. The Violin Concerto is significant in that it was one of the Sassoon's favourite compositions, and inspired him to write a poem on first hearing it in January 1917. These acoustic recordings are also valuable in that they convey to the modern listener how classical music was performed (and heard on disc) at the time.

The CD is ideal for educational, library and museum use, and is an absolute must for anyone with an interest in Great War poets and the First World War generally.

All poems and prose by Siegfried Sassoon copyright Siegfried Sassoon by kind permission of George Sassoon. All material by Edward Elgar is published by Novello & Co Ltd.

The cover painting The Harvest of Battle (1919) by C.R.W. Nevinson (1889-1946) appears by kind permission of the Trustees of the Imperial War Museum, London. Oil on canvas, 182.8 x 317.5 cm. Completed 1919.

Full Track List with Time
1. Elgar: Violin Concerto (andante): 4.04
2. July 31st 1914 (from The Weald of Youth): 3.59
3. The Dug-Out: 0.37
4. At Carnoy: 0.37
5. Attack: 1.01
6. Died of Wounds: 0.49
7. 12 Months After: 0.53
8. Prelude: The Troops: 1.50
9. Elgar: Violin Concerto (cadenza): 3.39
10. July 1916 - The Somme (from Memoirs of an Infantry Officer): 5.02
11. Memorial Tablet: 1.01
12. On Passing the New Menin Gate: 1.11
13. To One Who Was With Me in the War: 2.37
14. Elected Silence: 0.43
15. 1919 - After the War Mood (from Siegfried's Journey): 2.40
16. Edmund Blunden: 3.06
17. Edgell Rickword: 2.41
18. Henry Williamson: 2.28
19. Elgar: Violin Concerto (allegro): 3.58
20. April 1915 - Early Life (from The Weald of Youth): 3.32
21. The Merciful Knight: 1.00
22. Vigils (Part 9): 0.54
23. Two Old Ladies: 1.01
24. Vigils (Part 8): 0.42
25. The Heart's Journey (Part 7): 0.37
26. Vigils (Part 7): 1.07
27. Acceptance: 0.36
28. The Hardened Heart: 0.36
29. Elgar: Violin Concerto (allegro molto): 3.52

Total Timing: 57.12

PLEASE ALLOW 7 DAYS FOR DELIVERY OF THIS ITEM