A CONCERT to mark the centenary of the end of the Battle of the Somme included the Welsh premiere of a new choral work by Oscar-nominated composer David Lang inspired by the loss of life in the battle.

The Singing Clubs of Chepstow and the Forest of Dean and the Chepstow Chatelaines, as well as the Usk Singing Club, were joined by young baritone Jack Bowtell and soprano Sophie Angharad Goss who are both students at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

The stage at the Drill Hall in Chepstow was decorated with paper poppies made by Ann Rees and her team.

The massed choir was one of hundreds around the country singing Lang’s Memorial Ground on Saturday night.

There were also poetry and prose readings giving perspectives from both sides on the Western Front.

Singing club member Susan Burnett read from her book On That Day I Left My Boyhood Behind which was based on her grandfather’s experiences during the First World War.

The concert also included the club’s version of Last Post which was played on trumpet by Steve Smith of Chepstow and Steve Haywood of Usk on harmonica.

On Friday (November 18), the club has been asked to sing its version of Last Post by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Britain’s largest military cemetery.

The singing club will be at Beechwood Cemetery in Surrey at a special ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Somme where they will be representing community groups across the UK which have put on cultural events to mark the centenary.

Singing club leader Karl Daymond said: “We were delighted with the concert and the number of local people who came to support us.

“Our soloists and the choirs sang beautifully and the readings of war poetry were very touching indeed.”

•See this week’s Review for more photographs.