J Med Biogr. 2016 Sep 28. pii: 0967772016664692. [Epub ahead of print]

The music of war: Seven World War 1 composers and their experience of combat.

Davidson JR1.

Author information

• 1Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Duke University Medical Center, USA david011@mc.duke.edu.

Abstract

The effect of World War 1 military service on composers has been neglected in comparison with poets and artists. This article describes the wartime service of Arthur Bliss, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ivor Gurney, EJ Moeran, Gordon Jacob, Patrick Hadley, and Maurice Ravel. The relationship between experiences of combat and the psychological health of these men is examined, with consideration being given to predisposition and possible causative influences of military service on their later careers, examined from individual and societal perspectives.