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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It is a pity that the two reviews so far concentrate solely on Britten's War Requiem. This recording gives us the opportunity to hear Arthur Bliss's Morning Heroes, a remarkable work born from the composer's sufferings during and after the First World War. This excellent performance makes one long for more public airings for the work. Morning Heroes is powerful and unusual in conception as well as deeply moving. It was imaginative to place it next to Britten's Requiem, allowing us to see how two composers from different generations and with very different experiences of world war responded to such human tragedy.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Having experience this wonderful piece live in Oslo, I was inspired to seek out a better recording than Britten's own. While no one can surpass Britten's own recordings in terms of musicality, the recording quality is alas not up to scratch for modern hifi enthusiasts. This piece is an exceptional challenge to record, comprising a symphony orchestra, a chamber orchestra, men's choir, women's choir, children's choir, organ and three soloists.
I listened to four of the most recent releases, including Brittens own, and pick this one as the best overall performance and recording. I believe it truly captures the piece's extraordinary range and dynamics.
I listened to four of the most recent releases, including Brittens own, and pick this one as the best overall performance and recording. I believe it truly captures the piece's extraordinary range and dynamics.
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
It was very enterprising of EMI to put these two works onto the same CD package. It would have been easier and less imaginative to have coupled the War Requiem with other Britten works such as Rattle's recording of the Sinfonia da Requiem. By coupling the work with Arthur Bliss' Morning Heroes, the listener is given a fantastic opportunity to hear two very different responses to war by two English composers. I will review both works separately.
Bliss wrote Morning Heroes in 1930 after suffering a number of nightmares that had him reflecting on his World War I experiences as an army officer. His younger brother [whom he considered had great artistic talent] had died in the conflict. Morning Heroes is a symphony for narrator, choir and orchestra which has texts reflecting four different wars; i. the Trojan Wars with passages from Homer's Illiad, ii. an unknown Chinese conflicts from 1,200 years ago, iii. the American Civil War with passages from Walt Whitman's poem, Drum Taps and finally iv. the First World War with poems by Wilfred Owen and Robert Nichols. It is a shame that not texts were including in this particular package because there is a lot of words to get through.
Unlike the Britten work, Morning Heroes is not about the anger and pity of war. Instead, the work exemplifies noble self sacrifice. It is a far less popular work than Britten's War Requiem. I must say that as much as I admire the skill and imagination that went into the work, I was not particularly moved nor did I find the work particularly memorable.
The performance is very good. Sir Charles Groves was very good at this kind of work. John Westbrook is a superb narrator in the passage from the Illiad and the Wilfred Owen poem. The choir is good but cannot matchg the sound quality achieved by the CBSO chorus in the Britten work.
There is little point in going into the background of the War Requiem as it is far better known work. I recall the initial release of this recording in 1984, which was a brave venture. Until it was made, Britten's own recording was the only generally available one. That recording was authentic, with the 3 soloists that the composer had chosen. The recording's sound quality was also very high. Why release another version?
I think the recoridng has an equally authentic quality. The CBSO was the orchestra that played at the first performance in 1962 and there were members of the orchestra and choir on the recording who took place in that performance. Furthermore, the tenor soloist of the recording, Robert Tear, had worked closely with the composer and the original tenor soloist, Peter Pears.
For all its outstanding qualities, there were some aspects of Britten's recording that I am less keen on. I find Galina Vishnevskaya a bit squally and prefer Elizabeth Soderstrom here. She sang more lyrically but with the same dramatic command. Similarly, I found Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's english pronunciation a bit idiosynchratic. Thomas Allen is a fantastic singer in this recording but ultimately I don't think he made as much of the words and music was Fischer Dieskau did.
Robert Tear did a great job with the tenor solos. I still prefer Peter Pears in this recording but this is a very fine in its own way.
Simon Rattle did a fantastic job with this recording and I have no criticism to make over him at all. The CBSO chorus too was a fantastic group on this recording. I am very happy to have it in my collection.
Bliss wrote Morning Heroes in 1930 after suffering a number of nightmares that had him reflecting on his World War I experiences as an army officer. His younger brother [whom he considered had great artistic talent] had died in the conflict. Morning Heroes is a symphony for narrator, choir and orchestra which has texts reflecting four different wars; i. the Trojan Wars with passages from Homer's Illiad, ii. an unknown Chinese conflicts from 1,200 years ago, iii. the American Civil War with passages from Walt Whitman's poem, Drum Taps and finally iv. the First World War with poems by Wilfred Owen and Robert Nichols. It is a shame that not texts were including in this particular package because there is a lot of words to get through.
Unlike the Britten work, Morning Heroes is not about the anger and pity of war. Instead, the work exemplifies noble self sacrifice. It is a far less popular work than Britten's War Requiem. I must say that as much as I admire the skill and imagination that went into the work, I was not particularly moved nor did I find the work particularly memorable.
The performance is very good. Sir Charles Groves was very good at this kind of work. John Westbrook is a superb narrator in the passage from the Illiad and the Wilfred Owen poem. The choir is good but cannot matchg the sound quality achieved by the CBSO chorus in the Britten work.
There is little point in going into the background of the War Requiem as it is far better known work. I recall the initial release of this recording in 1984, which was a brave venture. Until it was made, Britten's own recording was the only generally available one. That recording was authentic, with the 3 soloists that the composer had chosen. The recording's sound quality was also very high. Why release another version?
I think the recoridng has an equally authentic quality. The CBSO was the orchestra that played at the first performance in 1962 and there were members of the orchestra and choir on the recording who took place in that performance. Furthermore, the tenor soloist of the recording, Robert Tear, had worked closely with the composer and the original tenor soloist, Peter Pears.
For all its outstanding qualities, there were some aspects of Britten's recording that I am less keen on. I find Galina Vishnevskaya a bit squally and prefer Elizabeth Soderstrom here. She sang more lyrically but with the same dramatic command. Similarly, I found Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's english pronunciation a bit idiosynchratic. Thomas Allen is a fantastic singer in this recording but ultimately I don't think he made as much of the words and music was Fischer Dieskau did.
Robert Tear did a great job with the tenor solos. I still prefer Peter Pears in this recording but this is a very fine in its own way.
Simon Rattle did a fantastic job with this recording and I have no criticism to make over him at all. The CBSO chorus too was a fantastic group on this recording. I am very happy to have it in my collection.
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