On a note of triumph (Triumfální akord, 1945, 2010)

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the historic broadcast, NPR offers the original presentation as it was first heard and a 1995 documentary produced by Mary Beth Kirchner along with Corwin — now 95 — to commemorate the radio classic.

Lit.: Corwin, Norman: Encore Screening: A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin. In web Youtube, 12. 9. 2008 (rozhovor s N. Corwinem po promítání dokumentárního filmu).

Lit.: Abrahamson, Brent: „On a Note of Triumph“ (Victory in Europe). In web Youtube, 25. 5. 2015 (anotace + nahrávka k poslechu). – Cit.:  It’s May 8, 1945, and a war weary world tunes in to CBS Radio for a special presentation called “On a Note of Triumph.” Victory in Europe has at last been declared. It’s been said that no broadcast exceeded the number of listeners that this remarkable presentation received. We offer this without further commentary as Southbridge Old Time Radio presents “On a Note of Triumph.” We now turn to CBS, The Columbia Broadcasting System.

Lit.: Corwin, Norman: „The Prayer“. An Excerpt from On a Note of Triumph, by Norman Corwin (first broadcast on CBS May 8, 1945). In web NPR, b. d.  (úryvek z textu). – Cit.: Music: Preparation: a slow, quiet, reverent theme which builds, not too quickly or obviously, under the Petition:

NARRATOR. Lord God of trajectory and blast,
Whose terrible sword has laid open the serpent
So it withers in the sun for the just to see,
Sheathe now the swift avenging blade with the names of nations writ on it,
And assist in the preparation of the plowshare.
Lord God of fresh bread and tranquil mornings,
Who walks in the circuit of heaven among the worthy,
Deliver notice to the fallen young men
That tokens of orange juice and a whole egg appear now before the hungry children;
That night again falls cooling on the earth as quietly as when it leaves Your hand;
That freedom has withstood the tyrant like a Malta in a hostile sea,
And that the soul of man is surely a Sevastopol
Which goes down hard and leaps from ruin quickly.
Lord God of the topcoat and the living wage
Who has furred the fox against the time of winter
And stored provender of bees in summer’s brightest places,
Do bring sweet influences to bear upon the assembly line:
Accept the smoke of the milltown among the accredited clouds of the sky:
Fend from the wind with a house and a hedge
Him who You made in Your image,
And permit him to pick of the tree and the flock,
That he may eat today without fear of tomorrow,
And clothe himself with dignity in December.
Lord God of test-tube and blueprint,
Who jointed molecules of dust and shook them till their name was Adam,
Who taught worms and stars how they could live together,
Appear now among the parliaments of conquerors
and give instruction to their schemes;
Measure out new liberties so none shall suffer for his father’s color
or the credo of his choice:
Post proofs that brotherhood is not so wild a dream
as those who profit by postponing it pretend:
Sit at the treaty table and convoy the hopes of little peoples through
expected straits,
And press into the final seal a sign that peace will come
for longer than posterities can see ahead,
That man unto his fellow man shall be a friend forever.