Armistice 2018 – Crimson Glory – St Edmundsbury Cathedral

St Eds Cathedral announces unique performance for WW1.

On Sunday 4 November 2018, St Edmundsbury Cathedral presents Crimson Glory, a unique event to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Great War.

Crimson Glory tells the story of a young Suffolk soldier in the Great War, through music, drama, dance, art and video. It depicts the soldier’s journey from his life on a farm to the horrors of the Somme battlefields, exploring his questions about Christian faith in the face of war.

What else is going on to commemorate Armistice Day 2018? Find out by visiting our Armistice 2018 What’s On Near Me section.

The production will involve some 350 performers, bringing together the Cathedral Choir, the Cantus Firmus Choir, (drawn from churches across Suffolk), Ex Silentio Choir from King Edward VI School, and a massed children’s choir from schools in the Bury Schools Partnership – accompanied by a full orchestra and the cathedral organ.

The principal characters will be played by sixth form drama students from King Edwards VI School, with additional drama and movement from the other schools involved. The performance will include a new piece for organ and dance, being composed by the cathedral’s organ scholar Thomas Hawkes.

There will be an inter-school art exhibition in the cathedral cloisters in the weeks leading up to the performance.

The music includes movements from John Rutter’s Requiem, works by Vaughan Williams, Butterworth (who was killed in the Great War), Mendelssohn, Elgar, John Bell, and First World War popular songs, such as Pack Up Your Troubles and Sister Susie Sewing Shirts for Soldiers, as well as newly-composed music.

The project is being led by Richard Hubbard, the cathedral’s Music Development Director, working in partnership with Cantus Firmus Trust, and Woodbridge-based script-writer Neil Clayton. Tickets are available through The Apex.

Production has been made possible through the generous support of sponsors, Birketts. Bury St Edmunds Town Council, St Edmundsbury Borough Council, Glasswells and individual donations.

Tickets: £15, £10, £5 (child concessions & family tickets also available). All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets are available here.

Bury St Edmunds WWI Trail –is a stunning and poignant art trail that marks the centenary of the end of WWI takes place in Bury St Edmunds until November 11 featuring 18 pieces of artwork by local artists in prime town centre sites.

The stories behind the pieces tell of the grim reality of war and of life in England during WWI as well s take the visitor on a journey round the town.