A musical setting by Sue Casson of Rupert Brooke's War Sonnet V 'The Soldier'. David Maxwell Fyfe quoted the end of this sonnet to evoke a vision of a peaceful world for all nations in his summing up at the Nuremberg Trials.

 

Dreams of Peace & Freedom began life as a soundtrack to Under an English Heaven - a film about the life of David Maxwell Fyfe that Tom made for the Kilmuir Papers website. It took its’ name from the final line of this famous sonnet, which Fyfe had quoted in his closing at Nuremberg, and as such is the point of inspiration for this song cycle.

 

At this time, Lily was a chorister in the Southwark Cathedral Girls Choir, and Tom and I both loved the ethereal effect created in blending two strands of young voices. Inspired by that Southwark ‘sound’, I wrote to evoke ‘English music’ of the early 20th century, in 3 rather than 2 parts to enrich the harmony.