This edition was prepared by Michael Winikoff — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Anthem for Doomed Youth
Staff Notation • Secular, Anthems
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Anthem for Doomed Youth by Michael Winikoff — Lyrics
What passingbells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
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About Anthem for Doomed Youth
Michael Winikoff’s Anthem for Doomed Youth is a powerful setting of Wilfred Owen’s searing poem, written to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the First World War. The text confronts the brutal realities of war, rejecting traditional elegiac symbols in favour of the stark imagery of the battlefield. This SATB anthem, sung in English, captures the anger and sorrow of Owen’s words, offering a profound reflection on sacrifice and loss. Its direct and unflinching message makes it a fitting choice for occasions of remembrance, where its dramatic musical setting can powerfully convey the poem's enduring message.
