Heroic Poem

And here’s another piece that I am sharing just because it is wonderful and not as widely known as it deserves to be: Joseph Jongen’s “Heroic Poem for Violin and Orchestra.” Of course, one could make the case that a “Heroic Poem” is particularly suitable for the 4th of July. But the truth is that I was planning on sharing it on the blog anyway.

Nevertheless, as I thought about it more, I added the following when I shared this post on Facebook:

For the 4th of July, here’s a musical “Heroic Poem” by Belgian composer Marie-Alphonse-Nicolas-Joseph Jongen. Among his life experiences was becoming a refugee from his homeland during WWI. Perhaps sharing this piece will help remind someone that when we talk about “refugees” we are talking about composers, painters, surgeons, teachers, and people who engage in any number of other professions, who are fleeing their homeland (usually due to war) and, if they find safety in ours, will emrich it immensely.

But it would be far better if you didn’t have to think about a refugee’s job, and what’s in it for you, to consider it worthwhile helping them…