Song of Survival

They survived three-and-a-half years in a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra during World War II. But these courageous women had something special going for them: the great music of Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin. Having no instruments but the human voice, they recreated from memory the complex symphonic music they had loved. Even as disease and malnutrition thinned their ranks, these Australian, Dutch and British women - missionaries, teachers, nuns, wives and children - used their unique choir to sustain a spirit that refused to accept defeat. Here is their remarkable story, told by the survivors themselves, aided by rare archival footage. The Peninsula Women's Chorus of Palo Alto, California, once again sings the rapturous music that made life endurable in a remote prison camp in Sumatra. The book Song of Survival: Women Interned by Helen Colijn, and the music from the camp sung by the Women's Choir of Haarlem, Holland are available from White Cloud Press, PO Box 3400, Ashland, Oregon 97520

• history
• musical