TRURO Cathedral is holding a ten-day festival of arts events commemorating the centenary of the start of the Great War.
More than 20 events have been confirmed, starting on Monday and including lectures, films, school displays about the war, art exhibitions, worship, poetry readings, concerts and recitals.
The events will culminate in the release of more than 10,000 poppies, representing the Cornish war dead and made by Cornwall's schoolchildren, from the central tower at 11.02am on November 11, after the two-minute silence, allowing them to float down to the cathedral floor.
The Dean of Truro, the Very Reverend Roger Bush, said: "The Great War is something that still influences and resonates with many people today. What the cathedral is offering is a chance for people to explore something of the horror, the courage and the determination of people not to be overcome by despair that the war consistently evokes in our imagination.
"The arts are a particularly effective way to reflect on difficult and challenging issues and help to give us different perspectives.
"In this case we hope that they will contribute to the process of honouring our collective memory.
"In word, music and art we hope to shine a few more beams of light into the collective layering that is our past so that further elements of the truth of this cataclysmic and world-changing event can come to light."
Headlining the event is the former MP and Cabinet Minister Michael Portillo, who will be one of three lecturers delivering a lecture programme examining the war.
Well known as a broadcaster and political commentator, his lecture, on Monday at 7pm, will explore the role that railways played in determining how the war was fought and even how they affected the outcome of the war itself.
Other lecturers include Professor Paul Fiddes of Oxford University on Tuesday, and Dr Catriona Pennell from Exeter University on Thursday, November 6.
There will also be two performances of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, on November 8 and 9 at 7.30pm, in which the poetry of Wilfred Owen and the words of the traditional Latin Requiem are set to music. It is nearly 30 years since the last performance of this iconic choral work in Cornwall and Three Spires Singers, a large orchestra and Truro Cathedral Choir will all combine for a moving and emotional tribute to the dead of the Great War.
Before the concert on November 8 Britten expert John Bridcut and BBC Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawney will discuss the work at 6pm in the Chapter House.
Three classic movies about the war – All Quiet On The Western Front (November 4), Gallipoli (November 5) and Regeneration (November 6) – will also be shown on the Big Screen in the cathedral.
On Wednesday, November 5, at 7pm there will be a musical tribute to poet and composer Ivor Gurney, who fought in the war as a private soldier, by Jonathan Carne, Naomi Johnston and David McKee.
On Friday, November 7, at 1.10pm Luke Bond, the cathedral's assistant director of music, gives an organ recital exploring the war's effects on the music and personalities of early 20th-century British music, and providing a visually arresting backdrop to all the events will be two linked art exhibitions by St Ives artist Roy Ray, entitled No Man's Land and Trenches.
Roy juxtaposes fragments of the soldiers' lives and fragments of the terrible war machine to create a stunning testament to sacrifice, loss and horror over the loss of life.
Roy has been working on his No Man's Land exhibition during the past few weeks within the cathedral.
Cornwall Remembers is Truro Cathedral's four-year commemoration of the centenary of the First World War and consists of a range of worship and other linked events which are taking place throughout the 2014-18 period.
Funding for the week of events has been partly provided by the Arts Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
For more information about Cornwall Remembers see www.cornwallremembers. org.uk or www.trurorcathedral.org.uk
Tickets for most events are available from the Hall for Cornwall on 01872 262466 or www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
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