THE HISTORY OF HONOUR
Honour began as a Quays Culture project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 1.
Honour 2014
Using texts from Welsh language War Poet, Hedd Wyn and archive materials from the Imperial War Museum North, audiences were given a window into the lives of those who fought on the front lines of the war and at home.
Artists included Creative Director, Craig Morrison; German duo Hartung Trenz and Wales-based animator Sean Vicary, invited to use projected text and carefully curated imagery; Sharon Watson of Phoenix Dance Theatre, bringing physical performance to assist the storytelling; Theatre In The Quarter relaying the experiences of the region’s dockworkers enlisted to serve in battle through audio drama; and an emotionally charged ‘Super Choir’ performing a specially written piece by acclaimed composer Andy Smith and conducted by renowned Choral Director, Jeff Borradaile.
Honour 2015
After taking some time to regroup after the massive undertaking that was the original event, the choir was brought back together with a shared view of commemorating the rest of the war anniversary period.
In our first event, we sang at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Cornelia Parkers 'War Room' and began to learn other music that would shape the way we chose to remember.
Honour 2015 - 2018
Honour was always about the personal stories, the local stories. So after speaking with our members, we turned to award winning spoken word artist Chris Bowles to craft those stories into spoken word pieces that would accompany our music.
Rather than reviving historic music of the time, we used contemporary music to better connect with our audiences, along side the moving spoken word outlining the stories of different people. The aim was to tell not just the soldiers tale, as the Honour song cycle does, but those impacted and left behind by the war.
Honour Song Cycle
Early on this journey we realised that what worked for 350 singers in a large scale event was not going to work for 50 singers in a concert venue. We successfully raised funds and asked Andrew Smith to rework the score for a more choral setting.
The piece was split into 5 elements and incorporated war poets and in some cases, more modern poetry that evokes the imagery or war and the hope for peace.
Belgium 2018
Towards the end of the commemoration period we were able to take the choir on tour to visit the places that we had been singing and speaking about for the past few years.
We were privileged enough to perform at the Menin Gate ceremony and several of the choir found relatives on the war memorials. It was a moving time to be so close, separated only by time and reminded us of the importance of remembrance.
Farewell Concert - Stoller Hall
In 2019 we planned our final concert at the Stoller Hall. This was a celebration of all we had achieved throughout the remembrance period and a chance to enjoy the music in a less sombre setting.
The future...
The music of Honour needs to be sung and so while the commemoration period has ended and the choir was to all intents and purposes closed, there have been other opportunities to sing.
Remembrance events continue as we remember those that have fallen.
If you would like to be part of the next chapter in Honour's history, please get in touch.
