Peterloo (overture)
Peterloo, Op. 97, is a concert overture by Malcolm Arnold written in 1968 to commemorate the centenary of the first meeting of the Trades Union Congress. It is a programme piece which depicts the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. It was given a mixed reception by critics, but has nevertheless become one of Arnold's best-known works, being arranged several times for wind or brass band, recorded many times, and played twice at the Proms, once in its original form and once in a choral arrangement to words by Sir Tim Rice. Programme The overture depicts the events of 16 August 1819 in St Peter's Fields, Manchester, where a peaceful outdoor meeting called to debate the subject of political reform was interrupted by the Yeomanry, a cavalry force which had been sent in by local magistrates. Attempting to arrest the speaker, Henry "Orator" Hunt, they charged the crowd, causing a panic which resulted, according to Arnold, in the death of eleven people and injuries to 400 more. Arnold wrote that "This Overture attempts to portray these happenings musically, but after a lament for the killed and injured, it ends in triumph, in the firm belief that all those who have suffered and