Bill Carrothers' Armistice 1918

2014 will be the hundredth anniversary of the 'Great War', and Carrothers' 'Armistice 1918' is still hotly topical. This performance transports us back to the songs of the early twentieth century and includes the projection of poems and photos from the First World War. The songs are malleable; Carrothers subtly and masterfully removes all sentimentality. With her untrained but pure voice, Peg Carrothers evokes the eternal human qualities of decency, love and compassion: the antithesis of war. From the disturbing 'Christmas 1914' for voice and dissonant piano to a bittersweet vocalisation of 'Over There', the most popular song of the time. Then there are Carrothers' own compositions. A moving, imaginative suite full of irony and unpolished notes. Peg Carrothers also sings these songs in an almost otherworldly voice. There are dark group improvisations on 'Evening Stand-To' and 'No-Man's Land' and even a new version of 'It's a long way to Tipperary'. 'Armistice 1918' is beautiful, sombre, sour, satirical and compassionate. It ends with a devastating version of 'I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier'. Not a requiem, but an emotionally pure evocation that hits exactly the right tone. Not raw anger, but something unreal. Carrothers says beautiful things about gruesome events. Just like Billie Holiday.