This descriptive work by Australian composer Andrew Batterham portrays the experiences of his maternal grandfather, Corporal Reginald Littlejohns, (4th Australian Machine Gun Battalion) in the First World War.
 
Reginald left Melbourne for Europe in May 1916 then served in Flanders through to the end of the war. He returned in April 1919, having sent hundreds of letters home during his service. His honest, articulate, and highly descriptive prose served as inspiration for this piece. Each of the 5 movements portrays a different aspect of Reginald’s war, with a quote from his letters included.
 
The first movement was premiered by the Box Hill City Band, conducted by Matt van Emmerik, in Melbourne. Daniel van Bergen conducted Booroondara Brass performing most of the work in April 2019, and Box Hill premiered the complete version in November 2019 conducted by Simon Brown.
 
The work is comprised of the following movements:
i. The World at War
ii. Over the Sea
iii. Passchendaele
iv. Homecoming Parade
v. Elegy
 
Length: c.12.00 minutes
 
PDF download includes score and parts.
 
Sheet music available from www.brassband.co.uk
 
Difficulty Level: 1st Section +
 
Instrumentation:
Soprano Cornet Eb
Solo Cornet Bb
Repiano Cornet Bb
2nd Cornet Bb
3rd Cornet Bb
Flugel Horn Bb
Solo Horn Eb
1st Horn Eb
2nd Horn Eb
1st Baritone Bb
2nd Baritone Bb
1st Trombone Bb
2nd Trombone Bb
Bass Trombone
Euphonium Bb
Bass Eb
Bass Bb
Percussion 1-3