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The 1914 Christmas Truce Is Set To Music At Symphony Hall

NPR
Published December 25, 2014 at 1:35 PM EST
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of 1914, the Boston Pops commissioned a new narrated work that combines words and music. (Courtesy of the Boston Pops)
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of 1914, the Boston Pops commissioned a new narrated work that combines words and music. (Courtesy of the Boston Pops)

Audiences who come to see the Holiday Pops can usually expect jaunty chestnuts like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” or “The Polar Express.”

But this year conductor Keith Lockhart was stirred by a bittersweet episode from history: an impromptu and unsanctioned ceasefire that took place during World War I.

“The particular thing about this story is that the uniting force, the thing that brings people together, is music,” Lockhart explained.

So in order to mark the 100th anniversary of the Christmas Truce of 1914, Lockhart commissioned a new narrated work combining words and music to tell the story of that famous display of humanity.

Reporter

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