Ian McEwan, or Shall We Die?

Anastasia Logotheti (Deree-The American College of Greece)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1983

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Music (any)
- Classical Music
  - Oratorio

Resources

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Best known for his award-winning fiction in which music often features, Ian McEwan has collaborated as a librettist with composer Michael Berkeley (see note 1) twice: for the oratorio

Or Shall We Die?

and the opera

For You

. At the time of each of these collaborations with Berkeley McEwan was at different stages of his literary career. The librettos have received little critical attention; they are usually mentioned in studies of McEwan’s fiction (for instance, in Groes, Malcolm, and Head) in relation to themes dominant throughout McEwan’s work.

Or Shall We Die? (1983)

Or Shall We Die? (1983)

The pacifist oratorio Or Shall We Die? was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and premiered at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1983. The work lasts fifty minutes and has been composed

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2005 words

Citation: Logotheti, Anastasia. "or Shall We Die?". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 August 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3016, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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