A musical journey across time exploring Tasmania's war time experiences
6 November 2024. Written by Caroline Sharpen.
This opinion piece first appeared in The Mercury on 6 November 2024.
Frederick Septimus Kelly was an Australian soldier of exceptional musical talent who wrote many of his compositions while serving on the frontlines of World War I, including the trenches at Gallipoli.
Kelly narrowly escaped death in Gallipoli and could sense that time was against him as he wrote his final piece - the Somme Lament - just two weeks before he was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916 aged just 35.
Kelly’s beautiful and haunting compositions were largely lost and forgotten until 2016, when a collaboration between the Australian War Memorial (AWM) cultural recovery program and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) helped to bring his works to life through a recording and public performance.
Australian soldier, musician and soldier Frederick Septimus Kelly.
The project was led by Canberra based musician Christopher Latham, who was artist in residence at the time with the AWM and who approached the TSO to record Kelly’s music for posterity.
Latham painstakingly revived Kelly’s songs and arranged them for orchestra from the soldier’s beautifully handwritten manuscripts, which somehow survived the devastation of war.
The recordings have since enjoyed air time on ABC Classic and the full album, Frederick Septimus Kelly – Orchestral Works by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra conducted Benjamin Northey, is available to stream on YouTube and Spotify.
Given the beauty of his music, we can only imagine the heights to which Kelly would have risen had he, like his music, survived.
We’re looking forward to sharing some of Kelly’s music with the Tasmanian public on November 10 when we join with the RSL to honour and commemorate the Hobart Cenotaph.
Our brass and percussion section, along with members of the TSO Chorus, will perform works by Kelly, and other composers to whom we turn to help us make sense of the human cost of war. When there are no words, music and symbolism hold us. They are what help us remember.
Unfortunately, there has been some confusion about this vigil, which is not a protest or rally or a political event. Rather, it is an opportunity to learn more about our Cenotaph and state war memorial – what it meant to the people of Tasmania when it was built after World War I; its symbolism and its cultural significance. It is a chance for all of us to honour and respect its enduring importance today – including its stark reminder of what happens when diplomacy fails.
Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the morning music and speakers, both of which will take the crowd on a journey through time with important music and historical facts, about not only the Cenotaph but the effect of conflict on Tasmanians since 1901.
TSO musicians will perform at a Cenotaph vigil from 10:30am on 10 November 2024. For more information visit www.facebook.com/RSLTasmaniaBranch
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