And they pass by.

Then quadraphonic ox-horns hit their note,
And as it swims across the plain
Ten Trojan queens
Led by son-bearing Hecuba
Enter
And sit.

A lull.

And then,
And then again, but with a higher note, that note
Instantly answered by a roar of silk…[1]

Music has been linked with images of war since early times. Homer described in this passage of The Iliad sounds that often accompany military marches, especially with horns and percussion instruments. Film composers often rely on these conventional sounds of war to accompany war-like images. Philip Glass and Godfrey Reggio, however, challenged our typical understanding of “war music” in the film Naqoyqatsi. In depicting “Life as war,” they used a symphonic score and cello solo to accompany harsh images of everyday conflict. Rather than emphasizing the visual horrors with matching musical accompaniment, the combined product attempts to present a neutral view fully dependent on the audience’s interpretation. Reggio hoped to reach a balance between the computer-enhanced images of destruction and the warmth of a traditional symphonic score. Yet, can the horrors of war achieve its most powerful effect to promote pacifism without war-like music?