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.
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.
@@richarddunbar4065I heard Pappano conduct this when he was in "The Munt" in Brussels, before he moved to London. One of the top 5 concerts in my memory.
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.
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.
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 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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Not quite: Culshaw had a set of LPs made (catalogue number BB1) and gave them to Britten on his 50th birthday (also 1963). Britten was aghast at the intrusion into his privacy and he and Culshaw fell out quite seriously over it. They managed to patch things up quite quickly, however... but _Decca_ in a fit of tactfulness didn't do anything with that recording thereafter until both Britten and Pears were safely dead! Personally, I enjoy listening to him rehearsing as much as I do Adrian Boult rehearsing Pilgrim's Progress.
@bbailey7818 Hehe! My favourite was, "Give him an A" (instrument after instrument plays A across the entire orchestra). "I said, give him _an_ A". That rehearsal is a gem!
One line I recall from it is Britten telling the orchestra, "Well, I decided the composer was right after all!" (Don't remember about what; but clearly, he'd told them in a previous rehearsal to do something contrary to his own score indications, and then decided to go back to what he'd written)
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.
_the instructions Britten the conductor gave to his performers_ My favourite being the point where he tells the choir "Don't forget, this is modern music... it's MEANT to sound horrid" :)
@@ftumschk Without their knowledge Britten, the soloists and the orchestra, did not know Culshaw kept the microphones open and the tapes running in both the hall and the control room during rehearsals. On the occasion of Britten’s fiftieth birthday, he was given a presentation LP of rehearsal excerpts with its own label and catalogue number, BB50. Undoubtedly offered with the best of intentions, the gift was received with less than the positive response intended, owing to Britten’s deep sense of privacy and his particular sensitivities around this work especially.
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.
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
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!
Just to be clear, it's the aircheck of the world premiere performance--it was never intended to be issued as a recording. Britten's Decca version is the world premiere recording. I hate to be pedantic like that, but for a minute I didn't know what you were referring to!
The soprano part was written for Galina V so it's hardly surprising that she has the perfect voice for it. In fact, originally Britten wasn't going to have a soprano part at all but the idea was suggested (I can't remember who by) when he discussed his plans, so he asked Galina if she could sing in English (presumably to sing a couple of the poems). When she said no, he came up with the idea of making her part of the Latin heavenly choir
@@jonbaum I doubt that. The piece opens and closes with a tritone: the whole concept of three 'levels' of operation is woven throughout the piece from the get-go. That would mean a part for a Soviet singer would have been thought about very early on. He had only recently become friends with Rostropovich (and hence with Vishnevskaya, whose voice fascinated him early on), so that would have been a factor in his mind as he began composition sketches, right at the start. Additionally, we know Britten kept a copy of Verdi's _Requiem_ to hand as he composed: it was a model he referred back to all the time... as he did with Tchaikovsky ballets when writing _Prince of the Pagodas_ ...and Verdi's Requiem definitely has a prominent dramatic Soprano role in it, singing Latin throughout. So, I doubt he didn't have a Latin role for Vishnevskaya in mind from the very start. I cannot find my copy of Philip Reed's Cambridge Music handbook on this work at this precise moment, however, so I grant that my recollection might be faulty. So I'm not _denying_ it's a possibility, just that I think it highly unlikely to be the case.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I see the point you're making: it was the recording of the world premier I was referring to, indeed. The BBC broadcast, from 1961. In a fit of pedantry, I might point out that since I can now listen to that broadcast some 63 years later, it must have been _recorded_ (onto stone tablets by the sound of it, but no matter) ...and that _would_ therefore make it the world premier recording, as opposed to the world premier _studio_ recording... but I take your point 🙂 I fear I am unnecessarily complicating things, however!
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.
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.
Hope helps us all through hard times and increases joy when life is going well. Faith, however, is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see
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.
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.
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!
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.
Hear, hear! I made that very same point much earlier on
@@stephenchen7491 I will be there on the 17th. I like Pappano’s recording very much so I’m excited to have this opportunity.
@@richarddunbar4065 Will be there too!
@@richarddunbar4065I heard Pappano conduct this when he was in "The Munt" in Brussels, before he moved to London. One of the top 5 concerts in my memory.
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.
Such a marvelous treat at such an young age. I envy you
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.
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 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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Not quite: Culshaw had a set of LPs made (catalogue number BB1) and gave them to Britten on his 50th birthday (also 1963). Britten was aghast at the intrusion into his privacy and he and Culshaw fell out quite seriously over it. They managed to patch things up quite quickly, however... but _Decca_ in a fit of tactfulness didn't do anything with that recording thereafter until both Britten and Pears were safely dead! Personally, I enjoy listening to him rehearsing as much as I do Adrian Boult rehearsing Pilgrim's Progress.
@dizwell "You chatter like market women"--Boult. That always makes me chuckle.
@bbailey7818 Hehe! My favourite was, "Give him an A" (instrument after instrument plays A across the entire orchestra). "I said, give him _an_ A".
That rehearsal is a gem!
One line I recall from it is Britten telling the orchestra, "Well, I decided the composer was right after all!" (Don't remember about what; but clearly, he'd told them in a previous rehearsal to do something contrary to his own score indications, and then decided to go back to what he'd written)
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.
_the instructions Britten the conductor gave to his performers_ My favourite being the point where he tells the choir "Don't forget, this is modern music... it's MEANT to sound horrid" :)
@@ftumschk Without their knowledge Britten, the soloists and the orchestra, did not know Culshaw kept the microphones open and the tapes running in both the hall and the control room during rehearsals. On the occasion of Britten’s fiftieth birthday, he was given a presentation LP of rehearsal excerpts with its own label and catalogue number, BB50. Undoubtedly offered with the best of intentions, the gift was received with less than the positive response intended, owing to Britten’s deep sense of privacy and his particular sensitivities around this work especially.
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.
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
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!
Just to be clear, it's the aircheck of the world premiere performance--it was never intended to be issued as a recording. Britten's Decca version is the world premiere recording. I hate to be pedantic like that, but for a minute I didn't know what you were referring to!
The soprano part was written for Galina V so it's hardly surprising that she has the perfect voice for it. In fact, originally Britten wasn't going to have a soprano part at all but the idea was suggested (I can't remember who by) when he discussed his plans, so he asked Galina if she could sing in English (presumably to sing a couple of the poems). When she said no, he came up with the idea of making her part of the Latin heavenly choir
@@jonbaum I doubt that. The piece opens and closes with a tritone: the whole concept of three 'levels' of operation is woven throughout the piece from the get-go. That would mean a part for a Soviet singer would have been thought about very early on. He had only recently become friends with Rostropovich (and hence with Vishnevskaya, whose voice fascinated him early on), so that would have been a factor in his mind as he began composition sketches, right at the start. Additionally, we know Britten kept a copy of Verdi's _Requiem_ to hand as he composed: it was a model he referred back to all the time... as he did with Tchaikovsky ballets when writing _Prince of the Pagodas_ ...and Verdi's Requiem definitely has a prominent dramatic Soprano role in it, singing Latin throughout. So, I doubt he didn't have a Latin role for Vishnevskaya in mind from the very start.
I cannot find my copy of Philip Reed's Cambridge Music handbook on this work at this precise moment, however, so I grant that my recollection might be faulty. So I'm not _denying_ it's a possibility, just that I think it highly unlikely to be the case.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I see the point you're making: it was the recording of the world premier I was referring to, indeed. The BBC broadcast, from 1961. In a fit of pedantry, I might point out that since I can now listen to that broadcast some 63 years later, it must have been _recorded_ (onto stone tablets by the sound of it, but no matter) ...and that _would_ therefore make it the world premier recording, as opposed to the world premier _studio_ recording... but I take your point 🙂 I fear I am unnecessarily complicating things, however!
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.
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.
Hope is never futile.
Hope helps us all through hard times and increases joy when life is going well. Faith, however, is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see
Is there anyone who can set English text to music as natural as Britten?
Arthur Sullivan
@@robertgordon862.
Henry Purcell
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.
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.