The high value Vera Brittain placed upon the art of music is evident from her many references to particular musical works throughout Testament of Youth. Her memory of events, both of the family life of her youth and of her experiences of the war, are often bound up with her experiences of music, and her recollection of particular works helps the reader gain important emotional detail concerning the scenes being described.
What follows is a selection of musical references in Testament of Youth with links to recordings. This is not an exhaustive list (although a complete annotated list of musical references in the book might be an interesting project). Many audio examples are from the Naxos Music Library and are direct links through the University of Tulsa subscription—a service also available through many other institutions.
Selected References:
Vera’s mother “had an agreeable soprano voice,” and at musical parties often sang songs such as“When the Heart is Young,” and “Whisper and I shall Hear” (25). https://archive.org/details/CorineMorgan-WhisperAndIShallHear1902
Edward was a “skilled and passionate violinist” even at eighteen (54), and Vera recalls supplying piano accompaniment for many of his holiday recitals, including: Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Op. 12, No. 1 http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=8.550284 and "the Mendelssohn Concerto" (unspecified—probably the Concerto for Violin and Piano in D Minor). http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=TPD1039046
Edward plays Dvorak’s “Ballade” at a school concert (89). http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=DOR-90171
Victor recalls Roland being moved by a performance of Karg-Elert’s “Clair de Lune” (90). Roland had said the piece reminded him of Vera, “in its coldness and the sense of aloofness from the world” (90). http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=BIS-CD-1084
One of the many moments when music brings consolation during the war is by the singing of Cowper’s hymn, “God moves in a mysterious way” (119). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z0e_xSC8to
In a pivotal passage, when Vera is struggling with feelings of guilt at not feeling useful regarding the war, she recalls the annual singing of Te Deum Patrem colimus on May Morning at Magdalen College, Oxford (152). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keC6BD50P00
In the surgical ward of 1st London General, the “blaring, blatant gramophones” (221) gave wounded men consolation, but to Vera, the songs added “a strident grotesqueness to the cold, dark evenings of hurry and pain” (221). Two of the songs mentioned particularly: “When Irish eyes are smilin’” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHSV8igDiEo
and “If you were the only girl in the world” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYDEb05J9Ik
Vera plays through the slow movements of Beethoven’s No. 7 Sonata, which reminds her of Edward (270). http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=8.571255 She writes to Edward that, if she were to die, she would quit playing music because there are pieces she could never again play without the painful memories of her brother. For example, the “Liber scriptus proferitur” part of Verdi’s Requiem. http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=Audite23.415
Brahms Requiem sung at Southwark Cathedral (275), after which the British offensive of the Battle of the Somme begins.Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=0094636539355
Vera attends a performance of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly while on a brief leave (321). http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=CDS59
Edward, changed by his experience of trench warfare, plays Elgar’s “Lament for the Fallen” from The Spirit of England, Op. 80 while home on leave (356). http://0-tulsa.naxosmusiclibrary.com.library.utulsa.edu/catalogue/item.asp?cid=CHAN6574