Nicola Lisle chats to members of the Lyric Piano Trio about a very special Remembrance Day concert

The existence of a mud-stained manuscript by Ivor Gurney is a poignant reminder that this First World War composer wrote some of his finest music while in the trenches — and remained deeply affected by the war for the remainder of his life.

He is just one of the composers to feature in next week’s Remembrance Day concert by the locally based Lyric Piano Trio.

The music selected for the concert was all written between 1914 and 1918, and reflects both the futility of war and the optimism of youth.

“It was all written by people whose lives were touched by the war in one way or another,” explains pianist Liz Hayes, who co-founded the trio about eight years ago.

“We just thought it was a really worthwhile statement that this music was written during this period, and it all sits comfortably together on this amazing theme.”

The concert opens with John Ireland’s Piano Trio No.2, which was written in 1917 and reflects the composer’s despair at the suffering of the troops and his desperation to cling to the beauty that remained amid the carnage.

“There’s some very dark moments in it, but it also has a very lyrical, very beautiful melody for the cello,” says Liz.

An interesting inclusion are a couple of works by Lili Boulanger, the younger sister of French composer and highly influential teacher Nadia Boulanger.

Lili tragically died in 1918, at the age of 24, after suffering from ill health for most of her life. She left a small body of work that is characterised by colourful harmonies and textures.

“She was extremely talented,” says Beth Reed, another of the trio’s co-founders. “Nadia never recovered from the death of her sister, and picked up her mantle when she died. Her songs are hugely adventurous, and of all the pieces we’re playing they sound the most contemporary.”

Also included are Ravel’s Piano Trio, put together hastily in late 1914 as the composer was anxious to go and join the war effort, and his Le tombeau de Couperin, a slightly later work in which each movement was dedicated to one of his friends killed in the war.

Sandwiched between the Ravel pieces are two songs by Gurney, Severn Meadows and In Flanders, both reflecting the composer’s longing for England. “They’re very much expressing his homesickness, while being out in the trenches and thinking of the countryside he loved,” says Liz.

With such a huge wartime repertoire to choose from, how did they select these particular pieces?

“It wasn’t too difficult, actually,” Liz says. “We found them, they sat very comfortably together, there was a lot of variety and we all liked them. So it all fell together very naturally. We’re looking forward to performing at the SJE, especially as it’s Remembrance Day. If there are any profits, which we hope there will be, we’ll send those to Help For Heroes. So it feels very good to be doing it on that particular day.”

Lyric Piano Trio: In Remembrance
* St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Road, Oxford
* Tuesday, 7.30pm
* Pre-concert talk, World War 1 Poetry and Remembrance, by Dr Jane Potter, 6.50pm
* Tickets: Call 01865 305305 or visit ticketsoxford.com