Oboe Concerto 'The Angel of Mons'

The Battle of Mons and the Retreat from Mons were the first encounters of WW1 between the Germans and the British Expeditionary Force. Although there were substantial losses, especially on the German side, the public focussed on several tales that spread (always second hand), of how the allies were saved by supernatural support from variously, angels, George and the Dragon, and the longbowman of Agincourt. Curiously, the Belgian town of Mons has an annual re-enactment event of a fight with a dragon, called the Lumaçon, and the route followed by the soldiers coincided with the route taken by Henry V’s soldiers towards Agincourt. So history replays itself.

In this four movement piece, the title headings are from an alleged eye witness account of the Battle of Mons, August 28th, 1914.

‘We all saw it. First there was a sort of a yellow mist like, sort of risin' before the Germans as they came to the top of the hill, come on like a solid wall they did--springing out of the earth just solid, no end to 'em. I just gave up. No use fighting the whole German race, thinks I; it's all up with us. The next minute comes this funny cloud of light, and when it clears off there's a tall man with yellow hair in golden armour, on a white horse, holding his sword up, and his mouth open as if he was saying, "Come on boys! I'll put the kybosh on the devils." ... The minute I saw it, I knew we were going to win. It fair bucked me up--yes, sister, thank you. I'm as comfortable as can be.’ Lancashire Fusilier describes the Battle of Mons to nurse Phyllis Campbell; "The Angels of Mons." London Evening News.

I liked the emotional progression through the story: the rise of the dragon of war, a sense of impending defeat, the intervention of supernatural forces, and a resurgence of courage ending in victory. Standing on the side of the road as it were, is a solitary figure symbolised by the oboist, who tries to intervene, reason, dissuade,  but in the end is overcome by war rolling on implacably.