By Danielle Bettendorf Staff writer
Jeffrey Fahnestock, adjunct faculty music, performed a recital in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11 in Stretansky Concert Hall.
The recital, titled “Casualties of War: Poetry and Music of the Great War,” featured both poetry and musical performances.
Fahnestock was accompanied by Scott Crowne, a pianist from Gettysburg, and James Watson, a performer with acting, musical and literary experience. Watson read poetry aloud in between Fahnestock’s and Crowne’s performances.
The recital was broken up into sections, titled: “Home,” “The Recruit,” “Belgium,” “France,” “Tragedy” and “Homecoming.”
Poems read at the performance included those by Joyce Kilmer, Rupert Brooke, Alan Seeger, John McCrae, Wilfred Owen, Charles Hamilton Sorley and Siegfried Sassoon. The musical pieces performed included works by George Butterworth, E.J. Moeran, Ivor Gurney, Francis Poulenc and Enrique Granados.
In choosing the repertoire, Fahnestock considered the themes of war.
“I often look to some anniversary of a composer or poet or event,” Fahnestock said. “In this case, two composers, Granados and Butterworth, died in the same year as an important battle in World War I.”
“The Battle of the Somme began on July 1, 1916 and ended in mid-November 1916 with 1.2 million casualties,” Fahnestock continued. “I searched for others who had been killed and easily found at least a dozen composers or poets who were killed or wounded in World War I. I’ve always been interested in history; this combination of music, poetry and history was intriguing to me.”
Fahnestock also noted the solemnity of the subject in the pieces chosen and how some wars are not discussed as much as others.
“This performance dealt with subject matter that is difficult to talk about—death and the futility of war,” Fahnestock said. “There is not much discussion about World War I in the U.S. There are no survivors of that war as there are of World War II.”
Fahnestock said the program and the pieces chosen were specifically designed “in a way that was a seamless arc of a man’s life from civilian to soldier to veteran.” This was reflected in the tone as the recital went on: it opened with “Trees” by Kilmer, which is more general than the recital’s final poem “The One-legged Man” by Sassoon, which reflects more on a man who has already served in the war.
“I’m always amazed by Fahnestock,” senior Sarah Stine said. “He sings a wide range of music, and his recitals are always meaningful as well as beautifully performed, so it’s always a joy to come and hear it.”
Fahnestock also said that in relation to Veterans Day, he hopes the audience looks into the history of war, rather than just listening to the performances.
“I hope that the audience looks deeper into the history and remembers those who served,” Fahnestock said. “At a liberal arts school like [Susquehanna], we should be able to learn about how seemingly different things are really connected.”
Fahnestock drew parallels between events that happened in the past and events that happen today.
“The use of tanks and airplanes for the first time in World War I are no different than the use of drones today,” Fahnestock said. “The poetry of that time still speaks to the horror of war. We still have men fighting wars and others protesting.”