The composer enlisted three main world religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) as co-authors, lines by Kipling, Tennyson, prayers of those who survived in Hiroshima...

This work sums up the entire 2,000-year history of the new era, sharpening the problem of war and challenging the young generation to solve the most pressing problems of our time in the 21st century with the help of conscience and reason: wars and their ecological consequences, international conflicts and clashes of civilizations, extremism, destruction of traditional cultures and manipulation of human personality in the global world.

The text of the oratorio was written by Guy Wilson, who at that time held the position of chief gunner of Great Britain. The text differs from the "comprehensiveness" as well as the musical language of "Armed Man". It included not only Jewish psalms, episodes from the Catholic mass and the Islamic call to prayer (adhan), but also fragments from the ancient Indian epic poem "Mahabharata", which describes the suffering of animals dying in fire, excerpts from the Bible, verses by Jonathan Swift, Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Tennyson and other British poets, as well as Toge Sankichi - a Japanese poet who survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and later died from the effects of radioactive exposure.

With a huge difference, all parts of the work are perceived as a whole and with fainting spirit. Jenkins skillfully introduces the listener to the main feeling - the war is meaningless...

Short description

The oratorio begins with the image of a noble, poeticized war, gradually moving to the image of the horrors of war, the apotheosis of death. It starts with the stomping of soldier's boots. The soldier's march is accompanied by the old French song "L'Homme Arme" ("A man, an armed person should be feared..."), the melody of which Jenkins first assigns to the piccolo flute, imitating the sound of a military orchestra. The texture of the old French song gradually grows with new voices and undertones, like the theme of fascism in Shostakovich's 7th symphony or the anthem of the fascist party in the movie "Cabaret". By the end of the number, this is no longer an innocent French tune, but an avalanche of war! This theme becomes a symbol of militarism as such, the destructive power of which only increases with each new generation of humanity.

The army is approaching, the rumble of drums is heard. Loudness increases with each new performance of the theme, collapsing towards the end of the part with a triple "forte".

In complete silence, the muezzin calls to prayer.

Christians, Jews pray after Muslims... The composer stylizes old church music: Palestrina's polyphony (section Christe, eleison). The psalms of Tsar David sound like a Gregorian chant.

But prayers addressed to God are not always about the world: soldiers ask God to bless them in the battle for the fatherland. March "Sanctus" somehow continues this theme, because they glorify God, even when they fight. Perhaps this is a symbol of the "holy war": God is on our side. Here, Jenkins shows the image of a "noble war", a romanticized war. But any war is hell: in the seventh part, Гимном Перед Битвой ("Hymn Before Action"), the real canon begins with the cries of "Заряжай!" ("Charge!"), the roar of guns, the roar of trumpets, and in the final - the explosion of an atomic bomb, destroying all living things around...

This is the "apotheosis of war", the triumph of death: the screams of the dying are full of horror and agony, followed by an eerie silence, broken by the distant sound of a lone trumpet playing the Last Post.

The breaking point is coming: between the 7th and 8th parts, Jenkins prescribed 30 seconds of complete silence. Immediately after this, an eyewitness tells about the death of Hiroshima.

The last parts of the work express hope for the transformation of humanity, for life without war. The familiar motif of the song "Armed man" sounds, but with new words that bear the simple truth: "Better peace than war"