Berlin 1945 - 3 triptychs

These 9 pieces fuse orchestral styles and electronic sounds to tell three stories from Berlin in April 1945. Influences on the music include the novels by Alfred Dobin (Berlin Alexanderplaz) and Heinz Rein (Berlin Finale).

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Triptych 1 (pieces 1 – 3) Hiding from the bombs

Piece 1 begins when the air raid sirens sound. People stop what they are doing to make their way to the nearest shelter. Piece 2 depicts thoughts and fears while cut off from the world outside; waiting in the shelter. Piece 3 is the aftermath. Leaving the shelter, the survivors walk through their flattened and broken streets.

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Triptych 2 (pieces 4 – 6) The Deserter

The SS remained brutal and merciless until the very end of the war. In the first piece, an SS squad inflamed with drink set out on a patrol to root out deserters. Initially the mood is jovial, but the menace increases as they close in on their prey. They find their victim and pounce. Piece 2 is the mock trial. Of course, the verdict is decided, but due process must be followed. In the final piece the sentence has been carried out and the body swings gently in the wind as a warning for all.

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Triptych 3 (pieces 7 – 9) The soldier’s last day

The first piece, Sunrise before the guns, depicts the end of the night and a small space of peace before the guns have started. The quiet does not last. In the second piece an infantryman dodges through the rubble haunted and hunted by snipers. Eventually his luck will run out. In the final piece the dying soldier lies on a stretcher in a world of morphine. It ends.