They went with songs to the battle. The line - from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen - was likely read countless times at the weekend, as people gathered to mark 100 years of Anzac.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It also served as inspiration for a dramatic new composition, written by Wollongong composer John Spence and performed by the BlueScope Youth Orchestra on Saturday evening.
The 23-minute piece, titled Variations on an Australian Theme, celebrates the legend of the Anzac spirit by following the emotional journey of the young soldiers who left Australian shores to fight for their country.
"The whole thing runs like a drama ... there is a moment where there is a boogie-woogie style going, and that flows into early jazz and ragtime and then 'bang!' I bash the low notes of the piano and the bombs start [going off]," he said.
"So it has this dramatic action going, which brings it all alive."
Spence drew on Australian classics Along the Road to Gundagai, by Jack O'Hagan, and Australia Will Be There, by Walter Skipper Francis, to create the piece after receiving an Australia Council for the Arts grant in 2014. The piece mimics piano styles of the era to set the scene, attempting to evoke the feelings of fear, bravery and loss felt by those who landed at Gallipoli.
Spence said he felt a great responsibility to treat the topic with dignity.
"I tried to [represent] the sincere motivations of the poor Diggers who were fighting for real values."
