Llewellyn Hall, Australian National University, Canberra
October 6, 2018

A month away from the actual centenary of the Armistice which ended the Great War (November 11, 1918), commemorations are reaching a peak.

Late last week, a carpet of 62,000 poppies – one for each of the ANZAC casualties – was unveiled on the lawns outside the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. At twilight, Paul Goodchild, principal trumpet with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, played The Last Post on a bugle that was heard at Gallipoli a century ago. The following evening, ANU Llewellyn Hall was the locale for what was the most moving ceremonial concert I have seen in that auditorium since it opened in 1976.

The Diggers’ Requiem is the final instalment of a four-year-long commemoration of the Great War by a local organisation known as The Flowers of War. It is the creation of Christopher Latham, well known as a one-time ACO violinist (1992 –98) of part-French heritage, director of the Canberra International Music Festival (2009 – 14) and ardent and unflagging advocate for Australian music. In his most recent manifestation, Latham is the inaugural artist-in-residence of the Australian War Memorial, a position that fits his curatorial vision and research skills...