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LIVE RECORDING FROM COVENTRY CATHEDRAL, 30 MAY 2012
ERIN WALL soprano
MARK PADMORE tenor
HANNO MÜLLER-BRACHMANN baritone
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
CBSO CHORUS & CBSO YOUTH CHORUS
Conducted by ANDRIS NELSONS
Britten's War Requiem: 50th anniversary in Coventry
2012 brings the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Britten's War Requiem, one of the most powerful pacifist statements in music. The first performance took place in 1962 in the newly consecrated Coventry Cathedral, built alongside the ruins of the old cathedral, left as a sombre reminder of the wartime bombings. On 30 May 2012, 50 years to the day, Britten's masterpiece returns to the cathedral, performed as at the premiere by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloists from three once warring nations. The anniversary performance is conducted by the CBSO's Music Director, Andris Nelsons, featuring the Canadian soprano Erin Wall, English tenor Mark Padmore singing the role written for Peter Pears, and German baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann. Choral forces are provided by the CBSO Chorus and Youth Chorus.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was commissioned to compose a work for the inauguration in 1962 of Coventry's new cathedral, adjoining the old cathedral that had been bombed and nearly completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II in November 1940. The commission gave Britten complete freedom to choose the type of music to compose. He conceived of setting the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead interwoven with nine poems by the English poet Wilfred Owen, who had been killed in World War I. It has become one of the defi ning masterpieces of the twentieth century: a devastating meditation on the pity of war that is every bit as relevant today.
ERIN WALL soprano
MARK PADMORE tenor
HANNO MÜLLER-BRACHMANN baritone
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
CBSO CHORUS & CBSO YOUTH CHORUS
Conducted by ANDRIS NELSONS
Britten's War Requiem: 50th anniversary in Coventry
2012 brings the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Britten's War Requiem, one of the most powerful pacifist statements in music. The first performance took place in 1962 in the newly consecrated Coventry Cathedral, built alongside the ruins of the old cathedral, left as a sombre reminder of the wartime bombings. On 30 May 2012, 50 years to the day, Britten's masterpiece returns to the cathedral, performed as at the premiere by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloists from three once warring nations. The anniversary performance is conducted by the CBSO's Music Director, Andris Nelsons, featuring the Canadian soprano Erin Wall, English tenor Mark Padmore singing the role written for Peter Pears, and German baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann. Choral forces are provided by the CBSO Chorus and Youth Chorus.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was commissioned to compose a work for the inauguration in 1962 of Coventry's new cathedral, adjoining the old cathedral that had been bombed and nearly completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II in November 1940. The commission gave Britten complete freedom to choose the type of music to compose. He conceived of setting the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead interwoven with nine poems by the English poet Wilfred Owen, who had been killed in World War I. It has become one of the defi ning masterpieces of the twentieth century: a devastating meditation on the pity of war that is every bit as relevant today.
Product Description
ARTH 101659; ARTHAUS MUSIK - Germania; Classica vocale Sacra Messe
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Any recording of the War Requiem faces a tough comparison with the iconic original recording conducted by Britten himself. This has so much become THE performance that there are some who will find it hard to replace it in their affections with a more recent reading. For my part, I found this new disc, recorded on the 50th anniversary of the original performance in Coventry Cathedral, both thrilling and intensely moving. In truth, I prefer Erin Wall (soprano) and Mark Padmore (tenor) to their counterparts Galina Vishnevskaya and Peter Pears on the original recording. Diction and singing styles have changed in the last 50 years and I now find the original singers too "plummy" and not as moving as the current soloists. Andris Nelsons and the orchestra(s) play the piece beautifully, and the main choir are simply magical, especially in quiet passages. The girls' choir, placed at the opposite end of the cathedral, are equally moving.
The picture quality is as good as it gets, and the shots of the old and new cathedral during the performance add to the drama and profundity of the piece. The original recording was not made in the cathedral itself as church acoustics are seldom ideal. In this case there are no acoustical problems and both soloists, choirs and orchestra are all caught in crystal clear thrilling sound, free of any distortion. This should come as no surprise because the credits show that the recording was produced by Paul Smaczny and his team from Accentus, who have won Gramophone's Best DVD of the Year Award for the last two years' running - in fact, the sole winners of this award to date.... Read more ›
The picture quality is as good as it gets, and the shots of the old and new cathedral during the performance add to the drama and profundity of the piece. The original recording was not made in the cathedral itself as church acoustics are seldom ideal. In this case there are no acoustical problems and both soloists, choirs and orchestra are all caught in crystal clear thrilling sound, free of any distortion. This should come as no surprise because the credits show that the recording was produced by Paul Smaczny and his team from Accentus, who have won Gramophone's Best DVD of the Year Award for the last two years' running - in fact, the sole winners of this award to date.... Read more ›
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, one of the twentieth century's greatest choral works, was first performed in May 1962 upon the consecration of Coventry's St. Michael's Cathedral, erected next to the ruins of the medieval Cathedral destroyed in a German air raid in November 1940. Following the composer's own recording with the LSO (1963), a number of fine modern readings have been available on CD for quite some time, including Simon Rattle's performance with the CBSO (1983) and Richard Hickox' LSO production (1991). A DVD release was long overdue. Arthaus documents - in excellent audio and brilliant blu-ray HD video - the 50th anniversary performance of the work, recorded in Coventry Cathedral on 30 May 2012. Soloists Erin Wall, Mark Padmore and Hanno Müller-Brachmann join the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Youth Chorus under the direction of the eminently talented young Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons. The backdrop of gaunt ruins and the severe setting eloquently underline the Requiem's passionate plea against warfare and for peace on earth - and perhaps the fact that humanity is still anything but at peace today.
The War Requiem is constructed in two huge concentric circles. Embedded in the Latin text of the liturgy for the dead are nine poems by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), British soldier and poet, who was killed shortly before the end of World War I. The poems vividly portray the horrors of war and are sung by the tenor and baritone soloists (accompanied by a smaller chamber group), while the soprano soloist, either alone or with the choir, intones parts of the liturgy. The youth chorus, strategically placed at the Cathedral's opposite end, is heard only three times: in relatively tranquil and peaceful parts.... Read more ›
The War Requiem is constructed in two huge concentric circles. Embedded in the Latin text of the liturgy for the dead are nine poems by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), British soldier and poet, who was killed shortly before the end of World War I. The poems vividly portray the horrors of war and are sung by the tenor and baritone soloists (accompanied by a smaller chamber group), while the soprano soloist, either alone or with the choir, intones parts of the liturgy. The youth chorus, strategically placed at the Cathedral's opposite end, is heard only three times: in relatively tranquil and peaceful parts.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful 50th anniversary tribute to Britten's own tribute to 'the pity of war' as was his intent
17 Oct 2012
By I. Giles
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
This production, performance and recording of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem marks the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of the new Coventry Cathedral, built to replace the medieval cathedral destroyed during the bombing of Coventry during WW2. The first performance was also played by the Birmingham orchestra as on this recording and featured an English tenor, a German baritone and an English soprano as commemorated here too. The original Russian soprano was not allowed to perform by the Russian government of the time because of the perceived political nature of the work.
Britten made a particularly famous recording of the work within a few months with the LSO and with the intended original trio of soloists. This went on to achieve a quarter of a million sales, my copy being one of them. The work had been set as one of the works to be studied in detail as part of the music `A' level exam that I was engaged upon. I was so struck by the setting of Owen's poems that I then bought a volume of his complete poems that I still own.
Britten's own recording was such a landmark both as a performance and as a recording that, even now, it represents a major challenge to any new recording of the work. That this anniversary recording is so successful is a remarkable achievement. That it is also by no means inferior to that of Britten's is even more remarkable even though there are some major differences which must be mentioned and which affect the balance of the overall effect.
The two main changes relate to the much slower tempo of the Dies Irae in particular and to the Sanctus to a somewhat lesser degree. This may be the result of the venue with the large reverberation factor to consider or maybe just a difference in emphasis.... Read more ›
Britten made a particularly famous recording of the work within a few months with the LSO and with the intended original trio of soloists. This went on to achieve a quarter of a million sales, my copy being one of them. The work had been set as one of the works to be studied in detail as part of the music `A' level exam that I was engaged upon. I was so struck by the setting of Owen's poems that I then bought a volume of his complete poems that I still own.
Britten's own recording was such a landmark both as a performance and as a recording that, even now, it represents a major challenge to any new recording of the work. That this anniversary recording is so successful is a remarkable achievement. That it is also by no means inferior to that of Britten's is even more remarkable even though there are some major differences which must be mentioned and which affect the balance of the overall effect.
The two main changes relate to the much slower tempo of the Dies Irae in particular and to the Sanctus to a somewhat lesser degree. This may be the result of the venue with the large reverberation factor to consider or maybe just a difference in emphasis.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
This requiem will be at the center of the 100th anniversary of the...
During the Second World war and afterwards Britten was a pacifist,but by the 1960's his views were acceptable,so was Owen's poetry. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Ultrarunner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant performance
I was in the congregation in Coventry Cathedral for the 10th anniversary performance of the War Requiem in 1972 and have the Britten 1963 recording, but this live performance is,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Wilfrid Legg
5.0 out of 5 stars
A War Requiem for Our Time.
Of course it's difficult to look any further than Britten's own recording with the soloists that he chose for this piece and as he was a good conductor, we have to assume he got... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Bruce
5.0 out of 5 stars
An extraordinary concert
This is an extraordinarily moving video showing the 50th Anniversary celbratory concert at Coventry Cathedral of the War Requiem. Read more
Published 6 months ago by moseleybee
5.0 out of 5 stars
A War Requiem to treasure
I attended the first performance of this work and had friends in the choir. Not a good performance, but a wonderful memory. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mags
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deeply moving
Caught some of the performance on The Space, rather disgracefully the BBC only had it on Radio 3 although it went out on TV across Europe, The silence at the end tells all. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Stanley
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully shot and recorded performance.
This is a wonderful recording in my opinion. There are some superb camera shots and an exceptional performance of this powerful and moving work by Andris Nelsons and all... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Treforus
5.0 out of 5 stars
So moving!
I bought the LPs when they first came out, then the CDs, of the Britten performance. The original recording has been with me for so many years, and I was loath to hear any other,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by john searight
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent!
This is the second video release of what many think is Britten's finest work. The 1963 recording of a broadcast from Tanglewood was brilliant in its day but cannot hold a candle to... Read more
Published 8 months ago by John Chandler
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