From: The Battle Cry / A Tragedy
Category: Choral Music / A Cappella
Instrumentation: SATB chorus a cappella, with short soprano solo
Duration: 2.5 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Text / Source: Poem by Thomas Hardy

Drummer Hodge is an a cappella SATB movement with a short soprano solo. Hardy’s poem was inspired by a real event: a local boy who traveled to South Africa during the Boer War as a drummer boy for the British troops and was killed there.

The song speaks more broadly to the innocence of those lost in war. Baxter’s a cappella setting gives the movement an exposed and intimate quality, allowing the text’s grief, distance, and quiet dignity to come forward.

This movement requires secure intonation, blended choral tone, and sensitive handling of the soprano solo. The performance should emphasize innocence and remembrance rather than overt dramatization.