WATCH: Local composer’s symphony remembers warring Jersey brothers

Monday 05 November 2018

100 years, five symphonic movements and two brothers - a local composer has been on a two-year journey researching and retracing the heroic plight of two Jersey brothers who fought in the First World War, to create a symphony in their memory.

Charles Mauleverer, who was commissioned by ArtHouse Jersey and the States to compose a symphony commemorating 100 years since the end of World War One, has used the opportunity to explore a largely forgotten piece of the island’s history.

Charles came across the story of the young Jersey brothers, Arthur and Charles Mallet, in a book written by local historian Ian Ronayne and has since traced their footsteps through France and Belgium whilst composing the piece in their honour.

Speaking about finding the brothers’ story, Charles said: “There really wasn’t very much information about this little story and I had to go straight back to Ian Ronayne to ask for his help. He was absolutely wonderful and found out so many things I couldn’t possibly have known.

Pictured: Charles retraced the steps of the Jersey soldiers through France and Belgium to get closer to the history he was inspired by (Charles Mauleverer).

“It also really helped to eventually track down the grandson of the younger brother. He was very kind and gave me his blessing for the piece which was a very moving moment in the process.”

The Mallet brothers were just teenagers when they signed up to fight in 1916 and their tragic story has now been immortalised in Charles’s second symphony which will be performed by the extended Jersey Chamber Orchestra at Jersey's Armistice Celebration Concert.

Charles, who trained at Oxford University and the Royal Academy of Music, decided to structure the piece in five movements – one for each year of the war from 1914 to 1918. He hopes this approach will allow him to communicate specific moments in the brothers’ lives as well as giving him the opportunity to experiment with the form. 

Video: Charles Mauleverer tells Express about the Jersey story that inspired his five-movement symphony.

The composer told Express that during the movement where the older of the two brothers is shot and killed by enemy fire he is creating an ‘acoustic palindrome’ whereby a reversed recording of the orchestra playing the movement will play at the same time as the musicians playing it live – a technique Charles described as “ambitious”. The piece also incorporates sounds of barbed wire rattling to “create an acoustic landscape of the trench”.

When asked about the magnitude of the brief for his commission, Charles said that there was “a huge amount of information to process” but he explained that “it was only really through reading about the experiences of Jersey soldiers and tracing their trip through France and Belgium that I began to get a feeling for what they went through." 

Pictured: Charles's first symphony 'One Home: An Environmental Symphony', inspired by the threat of climate change, commissioned by the Prague Symphonic Ensemble (Charles Mauleverer).

The commission arose as result of a collaboration between ArtHouse Jersey, which seeks to support local creatives in realising their artistic endeavours, and the States of Jersey who have created a ‘Great War Memorial Fund’ for projects which commemorate the First World War. Of this, Charles said: “I feel unimaginably fortunate to have been given this wonderful opportunity to play a small part in commemorating Jersey's role in the Great War.”

Conscious of the significance of the subject matter, Charles added: “I hope that some people in the audience, particularly the family of the soldiers who I was writing about find that it’s an appropriate response for them.”

The ‘Two Brothers’ symphony will be debuted at the Fort Regent ‘Celebration of Armistice Concert’ on Saturday 10 November at 18:00. The event is free to attend and will also feature performances by the Band of the Island of Jersey and readings by the Jersey youtheatre.