The Netherlands was liberated from the German occupation in the Second World War on 5th May, 1945, and the 4th May, the last day of occupation, is the Dutch Remembrance Day. Two minutes’ silence is observed at 20:00.

This year, Emma will be singing during a ceremony in the CWGC cemetery in Heteren , organised by the Heteren Orange Comité. A group of British veterans who partcipated in the liberation of the Netherlands will be present.

Nineteen airmen are buried in the cemetery, two of whom are unidentified.

19:30, CWGC Heteren, Achterstraat, Heteren, the Netherlands

The Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, took place between 7^th and 29^th April, 1918. It was part of a German offensive known as the “Spring Offensive” whose goal was to recapture Ypres from British Forces. There were over 200,000 casualties and losses. On 29^th April, the German High Command called off the offensive.

The First World War was the first war to involve tank warfare. The Tanks’ Regiment was formed by the British Army in 1916. Tanks were first used in 1916 in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in the Somme. During the Spring Offensive, the Germans used tanks in large-scale warfare for the first time. As the First World War progressed, tank warfare became increasingly common. It was perilous. Tanks often became stuck in mud, leaving soldiers vulnerable to shells and gunfire. However, only about a quarter of the casualties in the Tank Regiments occurred in tanks: many fell after dismounting to fire machine guns. The Tanks’ Regiment earned great respect from the Infantry Commanders to whose battalions they were attached.

The Tanks Memorial Ypres Salient is a monument in Poelkapelle, Belgium. On 15^th April, a ceremony will held at the monument at 16:30 followed by a service in St. George’s Memorial Church in Ypres. Emma will sing at both ceremonies.

Sunday, 15^th April, 2018

16:30 – Tanks Memorial Ypres Salient, Poelkapelle: blessing and placement of wreaths.

18:00 – Remembrance Service in St George´s Memorial Church in Ypres commemorating the centenary of the Battle of the Lys.

During the First World War, the allied forces sometimes sheltered in tunnels as well as trenches. In the French town of Arras, the New Zealand Tunneling Companies dug a large network of tunnels which connected to the town’s existing Roman and Medieval tunnels. These formed a base for over twenty thousand Allied soldiers, including a hospital with seven hundred beds and several operating theatres. There was running water and electricity. The New Zealanders named the tunnels ‘Wellington’ after their capital.

On 9^th April, 1917, at 05:30 am UK time, the Battle of Arras began. Soldiers ran out of the tunnels into No Man’s Land. In the thirty-seven days that followed, nearly 300,000 soldiers and officers were killed or wounded.

On 9^th April, 2018, at 06:30 am local time, there will be a remembrance ceremony at the Wellington Tunnels to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Arras. Emma will sing Abide with Me, Danny Boy, and Amazing Grace. Music will also be provided by the Orchestre d’Harmonie d’Arras, piper Anja Pepplinkhuizen, and ‘cellist Fabrice Bihan in what promises to be a moving and fitting ceremony. Britain and the Commonwealth will be represented by attachés and military personnel, and the Mayor of Arras will also attend and lay a wreath.

9^th April, 2018, 06:30 am, Wellington Tunnels, Arras, France.

Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions are perhaps his most often performed works during Holy Week. The St. Mark Passion is less well-known and it was nearly lost completely.

First performed in 1731, the St. Mark Passion was revised in 1744, and then the manuscript was lost. Fortunately, it was possible to reconstruct much of the work for two reasons: firstly, because the libretto survived, and secondly, because the St. Mark Passion reused music from Bach’s other works. This included movements from the Christmas Oratorio, the ode Laß Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl (BWV 198), and the two arias from the cantata Wiederstehe doch der Sünde (BWV 54). In order to complete the work, the remaining words were set to other Bach arias or as recitative.

Emma will sing extracts of the St. Mark Passion together with soprano Caroline Stam and baritone Frits Karskens and the Brederode Consort in a concert on 31^st March. They are accompanied by an period instrument ensemble with conductor Henk Gijzen.

The concert will also include extracts from a St. John Passion which was originally considered to be an early work of Handel. More recently, the work has been attributed to Bohm. The Brederobe Consort will also perform a composition of conductor and organist Henk Gijzen

Saturday, 31^st March, 16:00

Marekerk, Leiden, the Netherlands

Free entry: a collection may be taken to support the work of the church