A Passion for Peace
“Peace is not merely the absence of war. Peace is the nurture of human life.”
Jane Addams, President, 1915 International Congress of Women
This community oratorio brings a fresh, life-enhancing perspective to First World War commemorations.
In beautiful poetry and song our chorus of 80 Canberra women and children sing on the courageous spirit of 1300 women who gathered for the momentous 1915 International Congress of Woman, in the same week as the Anzacs’ Gallipoli landing.
A community oratorio written and composed by Glenda Cloughley with Musical Direction by Johanna McBride. Sung by Canberra’s Chorus of Women.
Directed by Miriam Pickard and Craig San Roque.
Narrated By Miriam Pickard
Historical Context
A Passion for Peace premiered on April 2015 in Albert Hall, Canberra during the 100 year commemorations of WWI. It sounds a great promise to the children of our community as we recall the legacy of compassion, imagination and political wisdom from Australian women pacifists and the ‘forgotten’ women’s international peace congress that took place in the week of the Anzacs’ Gallipoli landings.
In April 1915, 1300 women from warring and neutral nations gathered in The Hague for the only peace conference during the First World War. They wrote a series of resolutions that gave a method of continuous mediation to end the First World War together with the principles of permanent peace. These resolutions heralded the great advances in human rights and international law since 1915, including the criminalisation of women’s violation in war, and the establishment of the League of Nations (later the UN) and the International Court of Justice.
Several developments and variations of this work were created and performed between 2015-2019.