The
War Requiem,
Op.Opus , from the Latin word opus meaning "work", is usually used in the sense of "a work of art".The Latin plural of opus, "opera", is used to refer to the genre of music drama Opus (plural opera or opuses), from the Latin word opus meaning "work", is usually used in the sense of "a work of art".The...
66 is a large-scale, non-
liturgicalA liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Catholic Mass, or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish services...
setting of the Requiem Mass composed by
Benjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, violist and pianist.-Life:...
mostly in 1961 and completed January 1962. Interspersed with the traditional
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
texts are pasted, collage-like, settings of
Wilfred OwenWilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English and Welsh poet and soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading poets of the First World War...
poems. The work is scored for
sopranoA soprano is a singing voice with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music...
,
tenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
and
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
soloists,
chorusA choir, chorale, or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together is called a choir or chorus...
, boys' choir,
organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
, and two
orchestraAn orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s (a full orchestra and a chamber orchestra). It has a duration of approximately 85 minutes.
Composition
The
War Requiem was commissioned for the reconsecration of
Coventry CathedralCoventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Dr Christopher Cocksworth....
on 30 May 1962 after the original fourteenth century structure was destroyed in a
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
bombing raid on the night of 14 November 1940. The reconsecration was an occasion for an arts festival, for which
Michael TippettSir Michael Kemp Tippett OM CH CBE was one of the foremost English composers of the 20th century. -Early years:Tippett was born in London of English and Cornish stock...
also wrote his opera
King PriamKing Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus.The premiere was on 29 May 1962, at Coventry...
, which premiered in Coventry the night before the
War Requiem.
As a
pacifistPacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved; to calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war;...
, Britten was inspired by the commission, which gave him complete freedom in choosing the type of music he would like to compose. He conceived of setting the traditional
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
MassIn physics, mass commonly refers to any of three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent: inertial mass, active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass...
for the Dead interwoven with nine poems about war by the English poet
Wilfred OwenWilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English and Welsh poet and soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading poets of the First World War...
. Owen, who was born in 1893, was serving as the commander of a rifle company when he was killed in action on 4 November 1918 during the crossing of the
Sambre-Oise CanalThe Sambre-Oise Canal is located in northern France. It forms a connection between the river Sambre at Landrecies and the Oise at Tergnier. The canal is 71 km long, and has 38 locks...
in France, just one week before the
ArmisticeThe armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918, and marked the end of the First World War on the Western Front...
. Although he was virtually unknown at the time of his death, he has subsequently come to be revered as one of the great
war poetThe term war poet came into currency during and after World War I. A number of poets writing in English had been soldiers, and had written about their experiences of war. Quite a number had died, most famously Rupert Brooke, Isaac Rosenberg, Wilfred Owen, and Charles Sorley...
s.
Philip Reed has discussed the progression of Britten's composition of the
War Requiem in the Cambridge Music Handbook publication on the work. Britten himself acknowledged the stylistic influence of the Requiems of other composers such as
Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's
RequiemThe Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeralMass...
on his own composition.
The work was dedicated to four individuals, Roger Burney, Piers Dunkerley, David Gill, and Michael Halliday. Burney and Halliday were friends of Pears and Britten, respectively, who died in the war. According to the Britten-Pears Foundation website, Dunkerley, "one of Britten’s closest friends, took part in the 1944 Normandy landings. Unlike the other dedicatees, he survived the war but committed suicide in June 1959, two months before his wedding." None of the other dedicatees have known graves, but are commemorated on memorials to the missing.
Orchestration
The musical forces are divided into three groups that alternate and interact with each other throughout the piece, finally fully combining at the end of the last movement. The soprano soloist and choir are accompanied by the full orchestra, the baritone and tenor soloists are accompanied by the chamber orchestra, and the boys' choir is accompanied by a small portative organ (this last group ideally being situated at some distance from the full orchestra). This group produces a very strange, distant sound. The soprano and choir, as well as the boys` choir sing the traditional
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
Requiem text while the tenor and baritone sing
poemsPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
by
Wilfred OwenWilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English and Welsh poet and soldier, regarded by many as one of the leading poets of the First World War...
, interspersed throughout.
The full orchestra consists of three
fluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (third doubling
piccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), two
oboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois", "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s,
cor anglaisThe cor anglais, or English horn, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family.The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe , and is consequently approximately one-third longer. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais...
, three
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
s (third doubling E-flat clarinet and
bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet. Bass clarinets in other keys, notably C and A, also exist, but are very rare...
), two
bassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 1800s, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature...
s and
contrabassoonThe contrabassoon also known as the double bassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences.-The contrabassoon compared to the bassoon:...
, six horns, four
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
s in C, three
tromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s,
tubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
,
timpaniTimpani are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper, and more recently, constructed of more lightweight fiberglass. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick...
,
percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
(four players: two
crotalesthumb|right|Crotales are often used with other mallet percussionCrotales , sometimes called antique cymbals, are percussion instruments consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks. Each is about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by...
,
glockenspielA glockenspiel [German Glocken + spielen ] is a percussion instrument, composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal, thus making...
,
tamtamA gong is an East and South East Asian musical instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.Gongs are broadly of three types. Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top...
,
tubular bellTubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. They range from c1 to f2 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller and usually less expensive instrument...
s,
vibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the mallet subfamily of the percussion family....
,
cymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s,
triangleThe triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel in modern instruments, bent into a triangle shape. Usually held by a string at the top curve.- Shaping :...
,
castanetCastanets are percussion instrument , mostly used in Moorish, Ottoman, ancient Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells joined on one edge by string. These are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents...
s,
temple blockThe temple block is a percussion instrument originating in China, Japan and Korea where it is used in religious ceremonies.It is a carved hollow wooden instrument with a large slit. In its traditional form, the wooden fish, the shape is somewhat bulbous; modern instruments are also used which are...
,
whipIn music, a whip is a type of musical instrument played by a percussionist that is used in modern orchestras, bands, and percussion ensembles. The instrument is designed to imitate the sound of a bullwhip crack, without the attendant safety and space limitations.There are two types of whips. The...
,
bass drumA bass drum is a relatively large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The bass drums are of variable sizes and are used in several musical genres . Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished: the large orchestral bass drum, the smaller kick' drum, and the...
, two
snare drumThe snare drum is a drum with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom...
s,
tambourineThe tambourine or Marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils"...
, and
tenor drumA tenor drum is a cylindrical drum that is higher pitched than a bass drum.In a symphony orchestra's percussion section, a tenor drum is a low-pitched drum, similar in size to a field snare, but without snares and played with soft mallets or hard sticks. Under various names, the drum has been used...
),
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, portable
organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
or
harmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air, supplied by foot-operated or hand-operated bellows, being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion....
(a grand organ is called for only in the
Libera Me, the last movement), and strings.
The chamber orchestra consists of flute doubling piccolo, oboe doubling cor anglais, clarinet, bassoon, horn, percussion (one player: timpani, tam-tam, cymbals, bass drum, and snare drum),
harpA harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. As many other non-percussion instruments, it can also be used as a percussion instrument. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar;...
, and
string quintetA string quintet is an ensemble of five string instrument players or a piece written for such a combination. The most common combinations in classical music are two violins, two violas and cello or two violins, viola and two cellos. The second cello is occasionally replaced by a double bass, as in...
(standard string quartet and double-bass).
Movements and structure
The work consists of six movements:
- Requiem aeternam (10 minutes)
- Requiem aeternam (chorus and boys' choir)
- "What passing bells" (tenor solo) - Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth
"Anthem for Doomed Youth" is a well-known popular poem written by Wilfred Owen which incorporates the themes of the horror of war. It employs the traditional form of a petrarchan sonnet, but it uses the rhyme scheme of an English sonnet. Much of the second half of the poem is dedicated to funeral...
"
- Dies irae (27 minutes)
- Dies irae (chorus)
- "Bugles sang" (baritone solo) - Owen's "Voices"
- Liber scriptus (soprano solo and semi-chorus)
- "Out there, we walked quite friendly up to death" (tenor and baritone soli)- Owen's "The Next War"
- Recordare (women's chorus)
- Confutatis (men's chorus)
- "Be slowly lifted up" (baritone solo) - Owen's "Sonnet: On Seeing a Piece of Our Artillery Brought into Action"
- Reprise of Dies irae (chorus)
- Lacrimosa (soprano and chorus) interspersed with "Move him, move him" (tenor solo) Owen's "Futility"
- Offertorium (10 minutes)
- Domine Jesu Christe (boys' choir)
- Quam olim Abrahae' (chorus)
- Isaac and Abram (tenor and baritone soli)- Owen's "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young
The Parable of the Old Man and the Young is a poem by Wilfred Owen which compares the ascent of Abraham to Mount Moriah and his near-sacrifice of Isaac there with the start of World War I.The poem is an allusion to a story in the Bible, Genesis 22:1-18:...
"
- Hostias et preces tibi (boys' choir)
- Reprise of Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
- Sanctus (10 minutes)
- Sanctus and Benedictus (soprano solo and chorus)
- "After the blast of lightning" (baritone solo) - Owen's "The End (After the blast of lightning from the east)"
- Agnus Dei (4 minutes)
- Agnus Dei (chorus) interspersed with "One ever hangs" (chorus; tenor solo) - Owen's "At a Calvary near the Ancre"
- Libera me (23 minutes)
- Libera me (soprano solo and chorus)
- Strange Meeting ("It seems that out of battle I escaped") (tenor and baritone soli) - Owen's "Strange Meeting
Strange Meeting can refer to:* Strange Meeting , a novel by Susan Hill* "Strange Meeting", a poem by Wilfred Owen...
"
- In paradisum (All)
- Conclusion -Requiem Aeternam and Requiescant in Pace (Organ, Boys` choir and Mixed Chorus)
One striking juxtaposition is found in the
OffertoriumOffertory , the alms of a congregation collected in church, or at any religious service....
, a fugue in the repeating three-part time scheme 6/8, 9/8, 6/8 where the choir sings of God's promise to
AbrahamAbraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
("Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini eius" — "which you once promised Abraham and his seed"). This frames Owen's retelling of the offering of
IsaacIsaac or Ishak ) was the only child of Abraham and Sarah, and the father of Jacob and Esau, described in the Hebrew Bible. He is regarded as one of the three patriarchs of the Jewish people...
, in which the angel tells Abraham to:
As the male soloists sing the last line repeatedly, the boys sing "Hostias et preces tibi, Domine" ("Sacrifice and prayers we offer thee, Lord"), paralleling the sacrifice of the Mass with the sacrifice of "half the seed of Europe" (a reference to World War I).
The
intervalIn music theory, the term interval describes the relationship between the pitches of two notes.Intervals may be described as:* vertical if the two notes sound simultaneously* linear , if the notes sound successively....
of a
tritoneThe tritone is a musical interval that spans three whole tones. The tritone, sometimes known as the Diabolus in Musica, is the same as an augmented fourth, which in 12-tone equal temperament is enharmonic to a diminished fifth...
between C and F♯ is a recurring
motifIn music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition...
, the occurrence of which unifies the entire work. The interval is used both in contexts which emphasise the harmonic distance between C and F♯ and those which resolve them harmonically, mirroring the theme of conflict and reconciliation present throughout the work. The Requiem aeternam
, Dies irae
, and Libera me
movements end in a brief choral phrase, consisting mainly of slow half notes, that resolves the tritone's discordIn music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance — considered unstable...
to an F major chord, while at the end of the Agnus Dei
the tenor (in his only transition from the Owen poems to the Requiem liturgy, on the key words, Dona nobis pacem
- Give us peace) outlines a perfect fifth from C to G before moving down to F♯ to resolve the chorus's final chord. At the end of the Dies irae, the tenor sings (from Owen's "Futility") "O what, what made fatuous sunbeams toil, to break earth's sleep at all?" The notes of "at all" form the tritone and lead into the choir's formal resolution. In the final Owen setting, "Strange Meeting", one of the most prominent expressions of the tritone is sung by the Tenor, addressing an opposing soldier with the words "Strange friend". This poem is accompanied by sporadic detached chords from two violins and a viola, which include the tritone as part of a dominant 7th chord. At the end of the poem, the final string chord resolves to the
tonicThe tonic is the first note of a musical scale in the tonal method of musical composition. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord. More generally, the tonic is the pitch upon which all other pitches of a piece are hierarchically referenced...
, bringing the work to its final, reconciliatory In paradisum
. On a more practical level, Britten facilitated musical execution of the tritone in the closing bars by having the F# sung in one voice, but the C in another.
Four other motifs that usually occur together are distinct brass fanfares of the Dies Irae: a rising
arpeggioIn music, an arpeggio is Italian for broken chord where the notes are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. This word comes from the italian word "arpeggiare" , which means "to play on a harp"...
, a falling arpeggio followed by a repeated note, a repeated dotted fifth ending in a minor arpeggio, and a descending scale. These motifs form a substantial part of the melodic material of the piece: the setting of "Bugles sang" is composed almost entirely of variations of them.
Although there are a few occasions in which members of one orchestra join the other, the full forces do not join together until the latter part of the last movement, when the tenor and baritone sing the final line of Owen's poem "Strange Meeting" ("Let us sleep now…") as "In Paradisum deducant" ("Into Paradise lead them...") is sung first by the boys' choir, then by the full choir (in 8-part canon), and finally by the soprano. The boys' choir echoes the Requiem aeternam from the beginning of the work, and the full choir ends on the resolved tritone motif mentioned above.
Premiere and performances
For the opening performance, it was intended that the soloists should be
Galina VishnevskayaGalina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.-Biography:...
(a
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n),
Peter PearsSir Peter Neville Luard Pears was an English tenor and life-long partner of the composer Benjamin Britten....
(an
EnglishmanEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) and
Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a German lyric baritone singer and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder singers of his generation. He is greatly admired for his interpretive insight, note-perfect control of the tonal qualities and shadings of color in his voice, exceptional...
(a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
), to demonstrate a spirit of unity. Close to the premiere, the USSR did not permit Vishnevskaya to travel to Coventry for the event. With only ten days notice,
Heather HarperHeather Harper CBE is an Irish operatic soprano.She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she received her early musical training. She studied piano at the Trinity College of Music in London, with voice as a second subject, and sang with the BBC chorus.Her professional debut came in 1954 in...
stepped in and learned the soprano role.
The premiere took place on May 30, 1962, in the rebuilt cathedral with the
City of Birmingham OrchestraThe City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England.- History :Founded by Neville Chamberlain, the orchestra first performed as the City of Birmingham Orchestra in September 1920, with Appleby Matthews conducting its first concert...
, conducted by
Meredith Davies Meredith Davies CBE was a British conductor, renowned for his advocacy of English music by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Frederick Delius and Ralph Vaughan Williams....
(accompanying soprano and chorus), and the Melos Ensemble, conducted by the composer (accompanying tenor and baritone). There was a profound silence between the final notes and the applause. It was a triumph, achieving an impact matched by few works in the twentieth century and accordingly hailed by critics and audiences, at this and subsequent performances in London and abroad, as a contemporary masterpiece. Writing to his sister after the premiere, Britten said of his music, "I hope it'll make people think a bit." On the title page of the score he quoted Wilfred Owen:
"My subject is War, and the pity of War.
The Poetry is in the pity…
All a poet can do today is warn."
Both the southern hemisphere and the North American first performances took place on the same day, 27 July 1963. The southern hemisphere premiere was in
WellingtonWellington is the capital of New Zealand, at the southwestern tip of the North Island between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is New Zealand's third most populous urban area with residents. There are ...
,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, with
John HopkinsJohn Hopkins OBE is a Yorkshire-born, British conductor and administrator. Hopkins moved to New Zealand in 1957 and to Australia in 1963. He conducted the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in 1987 in one of New Zealand's first Orchestral Composers' Reading Workshops...
conducting the New Zealand National Orchestra (now the
New Zealand Symphony OrchestraThe New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
) and the Royal
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area. It is one third the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch.The city was named by...
Musical Society, with soloists Peter Baillie, Graeme Gorton and Angela Shaw. The North American premiere was at
TanglewoodTanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts and is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. It has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937.- History :...
, with
Erich LeinsdorfErich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
conducting the
Boston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays the majority of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the...
with soloists
Phyllis CurtinPhyllis Curtin is an American classical soprano who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She was known for her creation of new roles such as the title role in the Carlisle Floyd opera Susannah, Catherine Earnshaw in Floyd's Wuthering Heights, and in...
, Nicholas Di Virgilio,
Tom KrauseTom Krause is a Finnish operatic baritone particularly associated with Mozart roles.Born in Helsinki, he first studied medicine, while singing and...
and choruses from Chorus Pro Musica and the Columbus Boychoir.
The Dutch premiere took place during the
Holland FestivalThe Holland Festival is The Netherland's oldest and largest performing arts festival, and takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theater, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts and film were added to the festival roster...
, in 1964. The
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
Concertgebouw OrchestraThe Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...
and the Netherlands Radio Choir were conducted by
Bernard HaitinkBernard Johan Herman Haitink CH KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.-Early life:Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
; the chamber orchestra (consisting of Concertgebouw Orchestra instrumentalists) by Britten himself. The soloists were Vishnevskaya, Fischer-Dieskau and Pears, in their first public performance together.
An interpretation of the work was performed by the English Chamber Choir at Your Country Needs You, an evening of "voices in opposition to war" organised by The Crass Collective in November 2002.
Recordings
The first recording, featuring Vishnevskaya, Fischer-Dieskau and Pears, with the
London Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
conducted by Britten, was produced in 1963. Within five months of its release it sold 200,000 copies, an unheard-of number for a piece of contemporary classical music at that time. Recording producer John Culshaw reports that Vishnevskaya threw a tantrum during the recording, thinking she should be placed with the male soloists instead of the choir. The newest CD reissue of Britten's recording includes 50 minutes of surreptitiously taped rehearsal footage at the time of the recording.
Other recordings of the work include the following:
- EMI Classics: Elisabeth Söderström
Elisabeth Anna Söderström is a Swedish opera soprano.Born in Stockholm, Söderström received her first musical schooling from Adelaïde Andrejeva von Skilondz and later went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. She made her debut in 1947 at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre singing...
, Robert TearRobert Tear CBE is a Welsh tenor and conductor. His operatic debut was in 1966 as Peter Quint in Britten's The Turn of the Screw on the English Opera Group's tour of England and Russia. In 1970 he made his debut at Covent Garden as Lensky in Tschaikowsky's Eugene Onegin...
, Thomas AllenSir Thomas Boaz Allen, CBE, is an internationally renowned English operatic baritone from Seaham Harbour, County Durham...
; CBSO Chorus; Boys of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford; City of Birmingham Symphony OrchestraThe City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England.- History :Founded by Neville Chamberlain, the orchestra first performed as the City of Birmingham Orchestra in September 1920, with Appleby Matthews conducting its first concert...
; Sir Simon RattleSir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE, FRSA, is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, conductor
- Teldec: Carol Vaness, Jerry Hadley, Thomas Hampson; Westminster Symphonic Choir; American Boy Choir; New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
; Kurt MasurKurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, conductor
- BBC Legends: Stefania Woytowicz, Peter Pears
Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears was an English tenor and life-long partner of the composer Benjamin Britten....
, Hans Wilbrink; New Philharmonia Chorus; Wandsworth School Boys' Choir; New PhilharmoniaThe Philharmonia Orchestra is an orchestra based in London. Since 1995 it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke....
Orchestra, Melos Ensemble; Carlo Maria GiuliniCarlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor, and violist.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy and studied the viola and composition at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome...
, Benjamin Britten, conductors
- Chandos: Heather Harper
Heather Harper CBE is an Irish operatic soprano.She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she received her early musical training. She studied piano at the Trinity College of Music in London, with voice as a second subject, and sang with the BBC chorus.Her professional debut came in 1954 in...
, Philip LangridgePhilip Langridge CBE is an English tenor considered to be among the foremost exponents of English opera and oratorio.Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
, John Shirley-QuirkJohn Shirley-Quirk CBE is an English bass-baritone.He was born in Liverpool, England, and sang in his high school choir. He played the violin and was awarded a scholarship...
; London Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
and Chorus; Choristers of Saint Paul's Cathedral; Richard Hickox, conductor
- Naxos: Lynda Russell, Thomas Randle, Michael Volle; Scottish Festival Chorus; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is the BBC's classical music radio orchestra in Scotland.Founded as the BBC Scottish Orchestra in 1935 by the Scottish composer and conductor Ian Whyte, the orchestra developed a strong profile supporting the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the UK and abroad,...
; Martyn BrabbinsMartyn Brabbins is a British conductor. He studied at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later was a conducting student of Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory....
, conductor
- Deutsche Grammophon: Luba Orgonasova, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Boje Skovhus; Monteverdi Choir; Tölzer Knabenchor; NDR Sinfonie-Orchester; John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, conductor
- Telarc: Lorna Haywood, Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Anthony Rolfe Johnson is an English tenor singer.Born in Tackley, he studied with Ellis Keeler and Vera Rosza at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He first appeared in opera in the chorus and in small roles at the Glyndebourne Festival between 1972 and 1976...
, Benjamin LuxonBenjamin Matthew Luxon CBE is a retired British baritone.He studied with Walter Grünner at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established an international reputation as a singer when he won a third prize at the 1961 ARD International Music Competition in Munich...
; Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus; Atlanta Boy ChoirThe Atlanta Boy Choir, based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, was founded by Fletcher Wolfe in 1957. Fletcher Wolfe returned from retirement to conduct the choir after former Artistic Director and Conductor David White was dismissed on July 14, 2009 by the choir's board of directors. David White...
; Robert ShawRobert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
, conductor
- LPO: Christine Brewer, Anthony Dean Griffey, Gerald Finley; London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
and Choir; Kurt MasurKurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, conductor
- Klavier: Jeannine Altmeyer, Ladd Thomas, Michael Sells; William Hall Orchestra and Chorale; William Hall
William Edward Hall VC was the first black person, first Nova Scotian, and third Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross. Born at Horton's Bluff, Nova Scotia, in 1827 as the son of freed American slaves, Hall joined the merchant navy as a seaman, at the age of 17...
, conductor
- Naxos: Christine Goerke, Richard Clement, Richard Stilwell; The Washington Chorus and Orchestra; Robert Shafer, conductor
Film adaptation
In 1988, the British film director
Derek JarmanDerek Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, artist, and writer.-Life:Jarman was born Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman in Northwood, Middlesex, boarded at Canford School in Dorset and from 1960 studied at King's College London. This was followed by four years at the Slade School of Art,...
made a screen adaptation of War Requiem of
the same titleWar Requiem is a film adaptation of Benjamin Britten's musical piece War Requiem.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. Decca Records required that the 1963 recording be heard on its own,...
, with the 1963 recording as the soundtrack, produced by
Don BoydDon Boyd is a Scottish film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a visiting Professor in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and a Governor of the London Film School.- Biography :...
and financed by the BBC.
External links