Milligan will present its annual Choral Union performance on May 2. However, this performance will be different than its predecessors.
The group will perform Ralph Vaughan Williams’ cantata “Dona Nobis Pacem,” which means “Grant Us Peace.” Rather than a traditional performance, the selection will be presented as a “commentary on war and a prayer for peace,” said John Wakefield, choral union director and associate professor of music. The music will be accompanied by a visual presentation of quotes and photographs.
The commentary on war will convey that we need to be deliberate in considering war and wary of its seductiveness, realizing the lasting damages of war.
“War is seductive,” said Bert Allen, professor of psychology and Vietnam War veteran.
Allen responded to Wakefield's e-mail asking for ideas from the faculty. When the two discussed the performance, the idea for a visual presentation arose.
“I believe young people and old people who have not experienced war have an incomplete picture,” said Allen. “I hope this will fill out the picture somewhat.”
The visual presentation is intended to show facets of war that are not usually seen, according to Allen.
“We don’t talk much about losses of war,” he said. “We talk about land taken, battles won. We need to talk about the losses.”
The planned presentation will show those losses through images such as wounded and killed military personnel and civilians.
The words of the musical piece include passages from the Old and New Testaments, a poem by Walt Whitman, and portions of English parliament member John Bright’s speech about the Angel of Death that was made in protest of the Crimean War.