Just ahead of Remembrance Day, Luminos Ensemble and members of Luminos Chamber Orchestra present Dona Nobis Pacem by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Written in 1936, at a time when the world was slowly awakening to the possibility of a second European conflict Dona Nobis Pacem sets  texts from the Agnus Dei of the Latin Mass; excerpts from Walt Whitman’s Whitman’s 1865 collection Drum Taps inspired by the American Civil War; a passage from a speech given in the British Parliament by John Bright in 1855 at the time of the Crimean War (‘The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land’) ; and finally a series of passages drawn from the Old Testament which together express optimism for future peace. Vaughan Williams’ main inspiration was said to have been “drawn not from the soil of England, but from the whole world going mad around him”. At times haunting, terrifying, and heartbreakingly moving, Dona Nobis Pacem is also an optimistic anthem for peace.