The Cries of War is the second symphony composed by 12-year-old Carey Tan. The work is structured in three movements: Shadows of Misery, Reflection, and The Pact. It was awarded the Gold Prize in the Composition Category at the 2025 Global Genius Music Competition, where it also received the Inspirational Creativity Musical Genius Special Prize. In 2026, it won First Prize in the Original Composition Category at the UK International Music Competition.
This is a work that transcends age — a song of the soul that reaches into the deepest emotional layers of humanity. Across its three movements flows a powerful current of feeling: somber, weighty sonorities and heavy rhythms convey the terror of a collapsing homeland and the brutal fury of war; clear, sustained melodies then lead the listener into the stillness that follows devastation — a profound meditation on life and loss.
Ultimately, from the ruins, a dawn of hope begins to rise. The solemn prayer for peace — written by a child — feels especially sincere and deeply moving.
The most touching kind of genius is the one that gives music a heartbeat and warmth. With a pure and perceptive heart as his page and the grandeur of the symphony as his ink, Carey writes a poem of compassion that stirs the soul. This is not only a lament for the fallen, but also a call to the living.
The Cries of War reminds us that the brilliance of symphonic writing does not lie in the mastery of complex harmonies alone, but in music’s ability to reach the softest corners of our hearts and awaken the love and conscience we share as human beings.
It is a symphonic monument offered to the world by a twelve-year-old — remembering sorrow while sowing hope; born from a young heart, yet carrying one of the most profound and powerful cries for peace.
Composer’s notes:
“This symphony portrays different stages of war, past and future.
The first movement, Shadows of Misery, depicts a society deteriorated by war. Episodes of conflict constantly interrupt passages of mourning and reflection. Dissonant chords dominate the texture; although the key is marked as B-flat minor, no true B-flat minor chord appears. The fluctuating crescendos and dynamic contrasts symbolise the instability of war and the truth that war cannot make the world better.
The second movement, Reflection, reduces the level of dissonance and makes greater use of major and minor seventh chords. Though some passages contain harsh melodic lines, they ultimately resolve into brighter harmonies. Yet the movement closes with a mournful C-sharp minor trumpet ending, suggesting that the war is not yet over.
The third movement, The Pact, opens with turmoil and confusion, still shadowed by reflection. Dissonant and diminished chords, long sustained tones, and semitone motion dominate the texture. A long section of discussion and argument follows. Eventually, diminished harmonies resolve into B-flat major, symbolising eternal joy and peace, before modulating through G major, B major, and finally D-flat major, where the symphony concludes in radiant affirmation.
I wrote this piece to express my view of the destruction that war brings, and my optimistic hope for a future of peace.”
