21 thoughts on “The Greatest Recordings EVER! Britten: War Requiem”
Glad you brought this legendary recording into the spotlight. There's nothing more treasurable than a recording of a work conducted by the composer himself, especially when everything was done most superbly. P.S. The LSO will perform the War Requiem at the Proms in about two weeks time and this would be the perfect pre-listening.
It is such a powerful piece to hear live. I took my son, who is deeply and exclusively into drum and bass music, and he was moved, almost to tears. Its quite wonderful.
This fabulous recording was the first requiem I'd heard on record, and it turned out to be the first requiem I got to see live. The latter was a fine performance by the Philharmonia conducted by Andrew Davis, with Julia Varady, Robert Tear (next best thing to Pears in this rep) and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau himself.
As the concert was a treat for my 20th birthday, I had a really good seat in the front row, directly in front of the male soloists. Whenever I listen to DFD singing on the Decca CDs, it takes me right back to the thrill of hearing him at the Festival Hall in 1986. I've got chills just remembering it.
And don't miss the recording of Britten rehearsing it. He didn't approve of producer John Culshaw intruding on the rehearsal process, so Culshaw tactfully put it away until after Britten's death. But now, musicians, including choral singers like me, have a unique and invaluable resource for preparing the War Requiem.
There is no other classical recording I treasure as much as this. The recording is special in many ways, and both the work itself, and what it means, are so important that they require the exceptional care and attention Britten paid to the performance. It is his (and our) Guernica – a portrait of the most extreme aspect of humanity, which exists within all of us. I would trade a thousand Bach cantatas for this, for that reason.
I recently acquired the hybrid SACD edition of it, which includes a second disc with some of the recording sessions and the instructions Britten the conductor gave to his performers. It is very interesting to hear the succinct, clear-minded, and delightfully polite directions Britten gave, and it reveals much more of his intentions. If the work means something to you I heartily recommend obtaining this edition.
That world premier recording: Peter Pears sounds like he's dialling in his performance from the local pub! Or maybe he's edging his way out to that pub early. Either way, I agree the sonics are terrible -though I have to say, I hold it in higher esteem artistically than it appears you do, if you can acoustically squint through the haze, as it were! It is fascinating to hear Heather Harper sing the soprano role, and then compare that with what you hear Vishnevskaya do in the later studio recording: chalk and cheese, English cathedral choir voice versus something much earthier and visceral. It's clear Britten knew precisely how he wanted the soprano to sound and that Heather Harper was not it! Interesting that the Red House Archive was recently gifted Heather Harper's vocal score for the work, in which she'd notated every performance she gave with it… and Britten's signed the first page, of course. They were great musical colleagues -and she learnt the part in just 10 days, which is a feat and a half! But no, there's no question Vishnevskaya has the sort of soprano chops that Britten wanted, which you get here, and you don't get when most other sopranos sing it!
I agree. The choral opening and its repeat at the closing are among the most chilling sounds I've ever heard in classical music. The consonant resolution comes out of nowhere and always seems unexpected even with familiarity.
The line (not exact) 'perhaps the sun will wake them' always brings me to tears. Hope is futile in this world.
Nodding heads all about. It's also with Simon Preston on the organ who was admired as one of the most important English church musicians of his generation. I don't think that Dave has made a segment on him yet, although I could be wrong. Oh wee us, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beasties
as a young composition major my professor told me to go check this out from the library and it was absolutely life changing. Such and important work and exemplary for telling a narrative
Absolutely, Britten's Decca recording is remarkable. As mentioned though, the Hickox recording is fantastic also – worth it just to hear Heather Harper in the soprano role – beautiful Libera Me.
This is a landmark recording for sure & completely validates this great Britten work for posterity. I have not heard other performances of this masterpiece so, as much as I revere this one, I should explore other interpretations. This one satisfies me fully & the casting of the soloists is a truly inspired touch which fully does justice to Owen‘s poetry & the respective nationalities of the respective world artists involved. Britten‘s works are not as popular with the general public as is the case with other 20th Century composers but I have a more positive view regarding his accomplishments & the varied texture & sheer plea to humanity expressed here are, IMO
towering achievements & perhaps Britten‘s greatest masterpiece in merging music with a superlative message for the world.
This is the first recording of the work I heard – 1967 in one of my freshman college music classes. It's the one work that REALLY gets to me, in a way others do not.
A no-brainer, of course. But the thing is that it's so emotionally powerful, that I can't easily listen to it. In fact, I haven't heard the piece in years for that reason. I have a similar reaction to Mahler 6. Go figure.
Because I'm a geezer, I bought the LP box when it first came out. It played upon my teen emotions like a Strad. It's one of the few works that the audience at large recognized as a masterpiece from the start, as happened with the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. I think it belongs with the great choral-orchestral works, like the Verdi Requiem, the Shostakovich 13th, and the Bernstein Chichester Psalms. It made a huge impact at the time.
I wonder whether anyone has candidates for additions to the list since 1965, the year of the Chichester Psalms. There are works in the genre I like, but i can't think of any that continue their grip on regular (or even any) performance, live or recorded.
I went to the 40th anniversary performance of the War Requiem in Coventry Cathedral, and heard almost nothing other than the boy's choir. This might be because the boys were singing from the altar pews into the main body of the Cathedral, whereas the audience faced away from them toward the orchestra and singers ranged by the front doors which is the only area with the space to accommodate them, being the most cavernous part of the building which someone once told me was more like an aircraft hangar than a church. It was one of the most pointless evenings of live music I have spent made worse because nobody could leave until the Royal party had been escorted out by security, on top of which Coventry is not the most likeable of English cities. But the recording is priceless.
This is surely a masterpiece of the highest order, gloriously performed by all concerned, and I understand that it has recently been released as an SACD. I must look into that. By the way, I wasn't aware that it was political intervention that prevented Vishnevshaya from participating it its premiere. I think she is marvellous in the recording.
The work is sometimes performed with multiple conductors; IIRC, Britten himself, in live performances, only conducted the chamber ensemble, leaving others to conduct the main choir and orchestra. During the recording sessions, he complained to Vishnevskaya about the difficulties of holding such a huge ensemble together. When she asked "Then why did you write it so?", he replied, "I didn't write it to conduct myself, that's the answer" (from Michael Foster, _The Idea Was Good: The Story of Britten's War Requiem_, Coventry Cathedral Books, 2012; p. 82). The results, however, are transcendentally powerful, so at least in that context, it's good that the composer did conduct the whole thing!
I saw it live in Canterbury cathedral a few years back and the acoustic was awful, whole musical sections vanished while others bounced from stone pillar to stone pillar before being churned in the vaulting above. I really like the referenced recording.
I completely agree that this is one of the greatest recordings ever. I was fortunate enough to attend a beautiful, dramatic live performance of the Requiem in Cincinnati conducted by James Conlon, with John Aler and William Sharp as the soldiers. The performance turned out to be timelier than planned because it took place not long after 9/11.
Glad you brought this legendary recording into the spotlight. There's nothing more treasurable than a recording of a work conducted by the composer himself, especially when everything was done most superbly. P.S. The LSO will perform the War Requiem at the Proms in about two weeks time and this would be the perfect pre-listening.
It is such a powerful piece to hear live. I took my son, who is deeply and exclusively into drum and bass music, and he was moved, almost to tears. Its quite wonderful.
The 2023 remastering from Decca, which came out last November is incredible!
This fabulous recording was the first requiem I'd heard on record, and it turned out to be the first requiem I got to see live. The latter was a fine performance by the Philharmonia conducted by Andrew Davis, with Julia Varady, Robert Tear (next best thing to Pears in this rep) and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau himself.
As the concert was a treat for my 20th birthday, I had a really good seat in the front row, directly in front of the male soloists. Whenever I listen to DFD singing on the Decca CDs, it takes me right back to the thrill of hearing him at the Festival Hall in 1986. I've got chills just remembering it.
And don't miss the recording of Britten rehearsing it. He didn't approve of producer John Culshaw intruding on the rehearsal process, so Culshaw tactfully put it away until after Britten's death.
But now, musicians, including choral singers like me, have a unique and invaluable resource for preparing the War Requiem.
There is no other classical recording I treasure as much as this. The recording is special in many ways, and both the work itself, and what it means, are so important that they require the exceptional care and attention Britten paid to the performance. It is his (and our) Guernica – a portrait of the most extreme aspect of humanity, which exists within all of us. I would trade a thousand Bach cantatas for this, for that reason.
I recently acquired the hybrid SACD edition of it, which includes a second disc with some of the recording sessions and the instructions Britten the conductor gave to his performers. It is very interesting to hear the succinct, clear-minded, and delightfully polite directions Britten gave, and it reveals much more of his intentions. If the work means something to you I heartily recommend obtaining this edition.
That world premier recording: Peter Pears sounds like he's dialling in his performance from the local pub! Or maybe he's edging his way out to that pub early. Either way, I agree the sonics are terrible -though I have to say, I hold it in higher esteem artistically than it appears you do, if you can acoustically squint through the haze, as it were! It is fascinating to hear Heather Harper sing the soprano role, and then compare that with what you hear Vishnevskaya do in the later studio recording: chalk and cheese, English cathedral choir voice versus something much earthier and visceral. It's clear Britten knew precisely how he wanted the soprano to sound and that Heather Harper was not it! Interesting that the Red House Archive was recently gifted Heather Harper's vocal score for the work, in which she'd notated every performance she gave with it… and Britten's signed the first page, of course. They were great musical colleagues -and she learnt the part in just 10 days, which is a feat and a half! But no, there's no question Vishnevskaya has the sort of soprano chops that Britten wanted, which you get here, and you don't get when most other sopranos sing it!
I agree. The choral opening and its repeat at the closing are among the most chilling sounds I've ever heard in classical music. The consonant resolution comes out of nowhere and always seems unexpected even with familiarity.
The line (not exact) 'perhaps the sun will wake them' always brings me to tears. Hope is futile in this world.
Nodding heads all about. It's also with Simon Preston on the organ who was admired as one of the most important English church musicians of his generation. I don't think that Dave has made a segment on him yet, although I could be wrong. Oh wee us, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beasties
as a young composition major my professor told me to go check this out from the library and it was absolutely life changing. Such and important work and exemplary for telling a narrative
Absolutely, Britten's Decca recording is remarkable. As mentioned though, the Hickox recording is fantastic also – worth it just to hear Heather Harper in the soprano role – beautiful Libera Me.
This is a landmark recording for sure & completely validates this great Britten work for posterity. I have not heard other performances of this masterpiece so, as much as I revere this one, I should explore other interpretations. This one satisfies me fully & the casting of the soloists is a truly inspired touch which fully does justice to Owen‘s poetry & the respective nationalities of the respective world artists involved. Britten‘s works are not as popular with the general public as is the case with other 20th Century composers but I have a more positive view regarding his accomplishments & the varied texture & sheer plea to humanity expressed here are, IMO
towering achievements & perhaps Britten‘s greatest masterpiece in merging music with a superlative message for the world.
This is the first recording of the work I heard – 1967 in one of my freshman college music classes. It's the one work that REALLY gets to me, in a way others do not.
A no-brainer, of course. But the thing is that it's so emotionally powerful, that I can't easily listen to it. In fact, I haven't heard the piece in years for that reason. I have a similar reaction to Mahler 6. Go figure.
Is there anyone who can set English text to music as natural as Britten?
Because I'm a geezer, I bought the LP box when it first came out. It played upon my teen emotions like a Strad. It's one of the few works that the audience at large recognized as a masterpiece from the start, as happened with the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. I think it belongs with the great choral-orchestral works, like the Verdi Requiem, the Shostakovich 13th, and the Bernstein Chichester Psalms. It made a huge impact at the time.
I wonder whether anyone has candidates for additions to the list since 1965, the year of the Chichester Psalms. There are works in the genre I like, but i can't think of any that continue their grip on regular (or even any) performance, live or recorded.
I went to the 40th anniversary performance of the War Requiem in Coventry Cathedral, and heard almost nothing other than the boy's choir. This might be because the boys were singing from the altar pews into the main body of the Cathedral, whereas the audience faced away from them toward the orchestra and singers ranged by the front doors which is the only area with the space to accommodate them, being the most cavernous part of the building which someone once told me was more like an aircraft hangar than a church. It was one of the most pointless evenings of live music I have spent made worse because nobody could leave until the Royal party had been escorted out by security, on top of which Coventry is not the most likeable of English cities. But the recording is priceless.
This is surely a masterpiece of the highest order, gloriously performed by all concerned, and I understand that it has recently been released as an SACD. I must look into that. By the way, I wasn't aware that it was political intervention that prevented Vishnevshaya from participating it its premiere. I think she is marvellous in the recording.
The work is sometimes performed with multiple conductors; IIRC, Britten himself, in live performances, only conducted the chamber ensemble, leaving others to conduct the main choir and orchestra. During the recording sessions, he complained to Vishnevskaya about the difficulties of holding such a huge ensemble together. When she asked "Then why did you write it so?", he replied, "I didn't write it to conduct myself, that's the answer" (from Michael Foster, _The Idea Was Good: The Story of Britten's War Requiem_, Coventry Cathedral Books, 2012; p. 82). The results, however, are transcendentally powerful, so at least in that context, it's good that the composer did conduct the whole thing!
I saw it live in Canterbury cathedral a few years back and the acoustic was awful, whole musical sections vanished while others bounced from stone pillar to stone pillar before being churned in the vaulting above. I really like the referenced recording.
I completely agree that this is one of the greatest recordings ever. I was fortunate enough to attend a beautiful, dramatic live performance of the Requiem in Cincinnati conducted by James Conlon, with John Aler and William Sharp as the soldiers. The performance turned out to be timelier than planned because it took place not long after 9/11.