Episode 04: “Remembering well”

“Lest we forget” is a phrase that memorialises those who have fallen in war.

In this special Anzac Day episode of ‘From A Whisper To A Bang!’, Megan takes a step back to look at the world in which we now live, asking: Are we forgetting? What happens if we do? And, while we might remember, do we remember “well”? In our busy, fast-changing “post-truth” world, she explores the role of remembrance now.

Travelling around Australia – and attending her first Anzac Day dawn service since returning home from Germany – she speaks with veterans, a politician, an empathy expert and historians – those whose business it is to keep history accurate, society accountable and the lessons of the past alive.

Amid the Australian War Memorial’s sea of 62,000 woollen poppies heralding the Centenary of the Armistice, Megan also “knits” together insights gleaned from fellow remembrance pilgrims, eager to share what remembering means to them.

Full episode credits

‘From A Whisper To A Bang!’ is written, produced and presented by Megan Spencer for the Australian War Memorial.

Episode 04 of ‘From A Whisper To A Bang!’ was first published on the Australian War Memorial website to coincide with Anzac Day, 25 April, 2019. Dur: 59:30.

Speakers:

Poppy pilgrims:

  • Jennifer, Chantelle, Susan, Heather and Judy Barter

Actor: 

  • Heath Bigg

Voices: 

Music:

Additional Music:

Additional Sound:

Mastering:

Acknowledgments:

  • ‘War Comes To Australia’ newsreel courtesy Cinesound Movietone Productions.

Thank you:

Darren “Dash” Moyle and Jason Tank from Port Noarlunga-Christies Beach RSL, and the Catafalque Party and Pipers who performed at PNCB-RSL 2018 Anzac Day Dawn Service; Amanda Rishworth; Ledy Rowe; Chris Latham and The Diggers’ Requiem artists and composers; Glenn Eley; Daniel Eisenberg; Aaron Pegram; Amanda Dennett, Andy Heaney and the DEX team; the Spencer family.

Music from The Diggers’ Requiem included in Episode 04:

  • ‘Requiem Aeternum / Rest Eternal: FROMELLES 19 July 1916’, GF Handel (arranged Latham) ‘Dead March from Saul’ for accordion, choir, all soloists & orchestra.
  • ’62,000 Bells For 62,000 Australian Dead’, recorded at the ANU School of Music Canberra by Veronica Bailey, Thomas Laue and Chris Latham (in ‘Lux Aeterna – In Paradisum’, composer: Ross Edwards).
  • Concert performed in Amiens, France, on April 23, 2018, by Orchestre de Picardie and the Jena Philharmonic and with Australian soloists, conducted by Chris Latham. Listen to the full concert and read the program.

The Diggers’ Requiem is an Australian tribute to the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, jointly commissioned by The Australian War Memorial and the Department of Veterans Affairs, with the assistance of Peggy Polias & Ellie Cumming. It features work by seven contemporary Australian composers working with Artistic Director Christopher Latham on existing and new musical pieces. More details about this collaborative project at The Flowers of War.

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