Onder leiding van bas wiegers, met solisten uit rusland, engeland en duitsland, consensus vocalis en het nationaal kinderkoor. The loud tuttis benefit the most and this is still a 1960s recording and doesnt have the space and sophisticated surround picture of recent recordings like britten. Benjamin brittens war requiem was composed in 1962 for the consecration of the rebuilt coventry cathedral, destroyed by german aerial bombardment in 1940. There is an excellent performance of this work, conducted by the composer, benjamin britten, himself, by the london symphony orchestra chorus, highgate school choir and the bach choir on youtube starting here. Benjamin brittens war requiem is one of the most powerful statements in music about war and the pity of war.
Brittens war requiem and its premiere are singular for several reasons. Film in support of stop the war coalition and campaign for nuclear disarmament, to mark the 70th anniversary of the atom bomb explosion over hiroshima and nagasaki august 6th8th 1945. The special edition of that version contains portions of the rehearsal and recording sessions which allow us to hear from britten directly how the music should be phrased, sung, and played. Lsobenjamin britten 1962 decca 475 7511 i thought mozart and verdi had said it all. Revisions led to an expanded work first heard in leipzig, germany on february 18, 1869. Of war and music reflections on benjamin brittens war requiem.
Forty years later, war requiem is a classic of the choral repertoire. The melos ensemble is conducted by benjamin britten, and the performers include heather harper. This concert commemorates the 100year anniversary of armistice day. Benjamin britten composed his war requiem in 1961 for the consecration of st. War requiem albums challenge classics nativedsd music. Here is a clickable table of the available midi files for this work. Order from your preferred classical music cd store. The war requiem was performed for the consecration of the new coventry cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenthcentury structure was destroyed in a world war ii bombing raid. Benjamin brittens war requiem brittens response to the collective bloodshed of the 20th century remains as vital and visceral. To our sorrow, its message is as timely now as ever. Benjamin britten war requiem brittenpears foundation. The cathedral in coventry was almost entirely destroyed during a german air raid in 1940, with only the outer walls, bell.
The film has been released on uk region 2 dvd featuring a making of war requiem documentary and interviews with swinton, parker and don boyd who also provides an audio commentary. Benjamin britten noyes fludde, childrens opera 59 min. Van zweden knows how to build up the threatening atmosphere easily from the beginning and performs a sublime live performance. Learn to sing britten war requiem, rehearse your satb voice part learning your voice part soprano, alto, tenor, bass in brittens war requiem does require you to dedicate some time to ensure you know the notes you are singing so you will sing with confidence and really enjoy fully contributing to your choir. Britten had set owens poem the kind ghosts in his nocturne of 1958. Benjamin brittens war requiem is all bells, childrens choirs, trumpet calls, choral shouts, solo voices leaping out like flames and angular melodic lines over a groundbass of lamentation. Benjamin brittens war requiem is a largescale, antiwar work for chorus, large orchestra, soprano soloist, boys choir, pipe organ, tenor and baritone soloists, and chamber orchestra. A performance of benjamin brittens war requiem from the royal albert hall. Benjamin britten war requiem listen to the complete work.
Britten intersperses his setting of the traditional latin missa pro defunctis with nine poems of the first world war poet wilfred owen, resulting in highly subtle and powerful contrasts and ironies. Choir i learning files for works by benjamin britten. Mengelberg had no qualms about performing the german requiem during world war ii in its intended language albeit in an occupied country but, while toscaninis 1937 bbc concert had used the original text, perhaps to assuage antigerman feeling at the height of the war his new york concert was in an english translation although the following. Brittens war requiem from cologne on tonights evening. Benjamin brittens war requiem article durrell bowman. It was first performed to mark the opening of a new cathedral for the city of coventry. Decca records required that the 1963 recording be heard on its own, with no overlaid soundtrack or other sound effects. Listen to the cbso in the full war requiem, with musical analysis by stephen johnson, insights from mark padmore, and the wilfred owen poems read by alex jennings. A movie with no spoken dialogue, it is set against the music and lyrics of benjamin brittens war requiem which includes poetry by world war i soldier wilfred owen reflecting the horrors of war. First transmitted in 1964, benjamin brittens war requiem is performed at the royal albert hall. It featured galina vishnevskaya, dietrich fischerdieskau and peter pears with the london symphony orchestra, the melos ensemble, the bach choir and the highgate school choir, and was conducted by britten himself. Coventry cathedral was almost entirely destroyed during a german air raid in 1940. The decision to intersperse the text of the requiem with poems by wilfred owen, who was killed in action one week before the end of world war i, was made soon after and they determined the character of the war requiem, whose first performance took place on 30 may 1962.
Het war requiem opus 66 van benjamin britten is een nietliturgisch requiem, gecomponeerd in 19611962 voor drie zangsolisten sopraan, tenor en bariton. Brittens war requiem 1963 is the first recording of benjamin brittens war requiem. Very often in the war requiem, brittens music follows the text quite literally when instruments are referred to in the poetry, they are heard in the music, and onomatopoeic words are illustrated musically. The recording took place in the kingsway hall in london and was produced by john culshaw for decca. War requiem is a 1989 film adaptation of benjamin brittens musical piece of the same name it was shot in 1988 by the british film director derek jarman with the 1963 recording as the soundtrack, produced by don boyd and financed by the bbc. The national youth orchestra of germany, whose patron the berliner philharmoniker became in 20, consists of highly gifted young musicians between the ages of 14 and 19. Brittens war requiem with the national youth orchestra. Brittens war requiem at the philharmonie berlin there are currently no dates available for this event.
The dresdenborn conductor herbert kegel felt a deep connection to the work of benjamin britten. In the war requiem, from 1962, britten took the status quo and turned it on its head in the most polite way possible, setting the stage for bernsteins own worldly commentary in his mass 10 years. This interpretation can be measured absolutely to the recording britten made of his war requiem in 1963. British soldier talks with a german soldier he has killed.
This particular recording of the war requiem by bejamin britten is notable for a number of reasons. With nathaniel parker, tilda swinton, laurence olivier, patricia hayes. A us region 1ntsc dvd is available from kino international. In this concert, the orchestra, together with the orchestre francais des jeunes, presents benjamin brittens war requiem a powerful, poignant plea for international understanding which in this performance is expressed. The orchestras accompaniment suggests gunfire and the wailing of shells. Coventry cathedral was nearly completely destroyed by the german luftwaffe at the beginning of world war ii. With a german requiem philip kerr has saved the best until last, at least in terms of the original berlin trilogy march violetsthe pale criminala german requiem. Marin alsop conducts brittens war requiem at southbank centres royal festival hall, 3pm, sunday 9 november, as part of a day of talks and free. Choral, opera, ballet, orchestral, chamber, piano, strings, concert and brass band music repertoire. For those who are familiar with the war requiem, this release acts as an important appendix to the legendary decca release under the composers direction. War requiem erin wall mark padmore hanno mullerbrachmann arthaus.
War requiem was instantly hailed as the towering choral masterpiece of the 20 th century. Benjamin britten was a devoted pacifist, and his war requiem is a profound musical and political statement, integrating wilfred owens world war i poetry with the traditional latin liturgical texts. These are realplayer files, click here for a free download of realplayer. Lukes and more, and youth orchestras from france and germany. The previous, medieval cathedral had been destroyed by bombing in 1940. A metaphorical cast of thousands perform benjamin brittens war requiem of 196162. The film was released on vhs and laserdisc in 1990, but because of its limited release, copies are quite rare.
Merlin harmonia mundi on behalf of lso live, and 4 music rights societies. Its imagery reflects owens story, that of other soldiers, and. Britten himself was the conductor, and took painstaking care to ensure that the recording process captured his music as accurately as possible. So spoke the usually sceptical ernst roth, brittens publisher, after the momentous 1962 premiere of the war requiem at the consecration of coventry cathedral. Kari lovaas soprano, anthony roden tenor, theo adam bass. Brahms a german requiem a masterpiece of humanism and choral music, loved equally by singers and audiences, with brittens ballad of heroes, a heartfelt response to wars devastating toll on humanity. War requiem britten, london symphony with fischerdieskau, dietrich, vishnevskaya, galina on cd. Stylistically the war requiem ranges from public music so obviously appealing, and so rooted in the requiem tradition of mozart and verdi, that it. The result, the war requiem, is regarded by many as his masterpiece in the nonoperatic sphere.
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