The Power of Silence

13 February is the date on which Dresdners commemorate the destruction of their city in air raids carried out in 1945 at the tail end of the second world war. [1]

The day is marked publicly in several events : the ringing of church bells, special concerts and no doubt through private reflection too.

An important mark of remembrance is the Menschenkette or human chain formed in the evening. This is a coming together for a reflection on what happened, why it happened and a reminder that only though our combined efforts will it not happen again.  In fact, this year remembrance events have taken place against an upsurge in support for extremist parties in Germany and this had led to a push back by concerned citizens to say no to hate and intolerance. One consequence was that the Menschenkette was particularly well-observed. 

After the Menschenkette we were invited to the commemoration concert in the philharmonic hall. This year they chose Dvořák’s Stabat Mater (no I didn’t know it either). The English conductor Thomas Beacham was once reported as saying that ‘The English may not like music, but they absolutely love the noise it makes’. Well I liked this one – there were vocal soloists, a large choir, all the expected insturments plus organ at one point – the whole works. I had not checked the text so I had no idea what they were singing about but it did not matter voices soared and music whirled.

And here is a thing. Many people have observed that post-Covid audiences at least in England are giving ovations at the slightest opportunity. Some worry that this may be lowering the bar – how can you tell a from a hearfelt appriecation of the performance from a ‘let’s pretend we have all had a good time?’  However, I just see it as evidence that we as a nation are not as buttoned up we once were. Whatever the case, the Stabat Mater deserved a standing ovation, it was magnificent. But what it got was silence. The whole audience had been asked to stand in silent remembrance. You could hear a pin drop. The performers then walked off. The silence was as stunning as the concert and I was not ready for it to end. As Bob Marley once put it ‘one good thing about music is when it hits you feel OK’. 

Notes

[1] You can read about the raids carried out in Dresden from a number of sources including the Wikipedia entry here. Controversy surrounds the bombing  just how many were killed? What was the rationale for blanket bombing Dresden a city not known for being an industrial centre?  Was this all an act of revenge? Sadly the numbers killed in the raids is a further matter of controversy, it is generally accepted that the accepted estimate from professional historians is around 25,000 people but right-wing groups have put the number much higher.

You can see a short report of the Menschenkette in Dresden in this news services (go to 4.44 to 15.46 in the clip. It is in German and covers extremism but the last part of the section shows the chain).