Two professors playing piano and violin find inspiration in British music on the brink of the Great War during a performance Thursday.

John David Moore, English professor at Eastern, and Elaine Fine, a teacher at Lakeview Community College, performed in front of a crowd of 16 people at the Tarble Arts Center Atrium.

“We started off with finding samples from different countries,” Moore said. “But when we could not find any consistency in the music, we turned to early British music.”

Songs that were played at the concert were “Allegro leggiadro” by John Ireland, “Romance” by Cyril Scott and “Humoresque” by York Bowen.

“Sonata” by Frank Bridge opened the night with a sense of passion and uncertainty, according to Fine.

“Every song should tell a story and that story is different for everyone,” Fine said. “Not a lot of people are probably familiar with classical British music, but it was a very important part of British history.”

Moore started playing piano in fifth grade and in high school, after much deliberation, made the decision to go from music, to art, to English.

It may seem weird that an English teacher was torn between music and English, but the two have more in common than most people think, Moore said.

“British music from the Eve of the Great War 1904-1914 ties into my British Literature class because not only was the event sponsored by the English Department, but it depicts the feelings of war and desperation as told through instruments,” Moore said.

“Rondo: Allegro sciolto assai” by John Ireland, was the last song of the night and also a fast paced song that depicts the unforgettable decision of the British entering the war, Moore said.

“The song has a melancholy feeling to it,” Moore said. “It shows the urgency and rapid changes being made in the final moments before the British decide to get involved in the war.”

In listening to “Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Fine said that she felt she needed to recreate the feelings that took place in those moments.

“The rhythm, the harmony, the folk like qualities of the music makes everything so captivating and real,” Fine said.

After the concert had ended and the dust settled, Jill Sampson, a woman in the audience said: “I have always been fascinated by history. This just proves that it is more than war and politics when it comes to depicting and recreating the atmosphere at the time. Sometimes in comes down to the arts.”

The second and final concert of the series, “British Music Written During The Great War and Published Between 1915 and 1920” will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17 in the Tarble Arts Center Atrium.

              Lenny Arquilla can be reached at 581-2812 or lrarquilla@eiu.edu.