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Very different in nature from Benjamin Britten's War Requiem of forty years later, Foulds's A World Requiem is nevertheless a significant forerunner in its deeply pacifist inspiration, its use of mixed, only partly liturgical text, its varied instrumental forces, and its relation to the 1914-18 War. This modern revival is long overdue and may now demonstrate that the work s relevance is both timeless and contemporary.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I was fortunate enough to be at the 2007 performance of Foulds's "A World Requiem" (the first for eighty-one years) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which features on this recording.
It is a sprawling, mystical, twenty movement, choral epic of 90 minutes, which commemorates the war dead of all nations, and was composed in the immediate aftermath of The Great War 1914-18, being performed regularly on Armistice Day in London up until and including 1926. It was a privilege to be there for the revival of this great work. It is difficult to describe and will not be to everyone's taste but I was gripped throughout. Foulds was very interested in Indian music (he died there of cholera in 1939) and the work shows this influence to some degree,although it also anticipates modern minimalist tendencies, with its haunting repetitive sequences. There is perhaps less variety, contrast and drama, compared with other anti-war works like Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem or Britten's War Requiem but there is no less depth of feeling in Foulds's score.
At the concert, the boy's choir and bands of trumpets were strategically located around the Albert Hall, to beautiful effect, but I was surprised at how well the recording coped with these challenges, maintaining the ethereal atmosphere throughout.
If you are caught up in it's unique atmosphere, this will be a great experience for you. The performances, recording, booklet notes and presentation are outstanding.
All credit to Chandos for recording this and Bantock's even more epic Omar Khayam within a few months of each other.
It is a sprawling, mystical, twenty movement, choral epic of 90 minutes, which commemorates the war dead of all nations, and was composed in the immediate aftermath of The Great War 1914-18, being performed regularly on Armistice Day in London up until and including 1926. It was a privilege to be there for the revival of this great work. It is difficult to describe and will not be to everyone's taste but I was gripped throughout. Foulds was very interested in Indian music (he died there of cholera in 1939) and the work shows this influence to some degree,although it also anticipates modern minimalist tendencies, with its haunting repetitive sequences. There is perhaps less variety, contrast and drama, compared with other anti-war works like Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem or Britten's War Requiem but there is no less depth of feeling in Foulds's score.
At the concert, the boy's choir and bands of trumpets were strategically located around the Albert Hall, to beautiful effect, but I was surprised at how well the recording coped with these challenges, maintaining the ethereal atmosphere throughout.
If you are caught up in it's unique atmosphere, this will be a great experience for you. The performances, recording, booklet notes and presentation are outstanding.
All credit to Chandos for recording this and Bantock's even more epic Omar Khayam within a few months of each other.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I was also lucky enough to attend the November performance and am astounded by the quality of the recording.
It captures the magic ambeince that the BBC Symph created, and is an excellent performance of Foulds' extremely emotive Requiem.
Highly, highly recommended.
It captures the magic ambeince that the BBC Symph created, and is an excellent performance of Foulds' extremely emotive Requiem.
Highly, highly recommended.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Since it's first performance on Armistice Night, 1923, 'A World Requiem' by John Foulds (1880-1939) has attracted widely varying opinions as to its value. Perhaps it was a victim of 'over-exposure' at the time and as a result was resented by the musical establishment. Some reviewers of the performance last year have commented that figures such as Sir Adrian Boult disliked it, ignoring the fact that Boult (along with Arthur Bliss and Arnold Bax) were on the committee that unanimously recommended it for performance in 1923. There can, however, be no doubt that it is a deeply sincere work, composed primarily to offer consolation to a world bereaved by apocalyptic war. Whilst there is little that is 'difficult' in terms of the harmonic language that Foulds employs, there is much that repays repeated and concentrated listening: chord-progressions and seemingly slight melodic figures permeate the entire piece giving it a unity not immediately apparent. The choral writing is superb and the orchestration is never over-blown in spite of the large forces used.
Having also attended the actual performance, I was amazed at the clarity of the Chandos recording: textures that sounded blurred in the Albert Hall are here presented with fantastic clarity and detail. The performance as recorded is extremely good, with strong soloists, thrilling choral singing, superb orchestral playing and very little audience noise. The wide vibrato of the soprano soloist has been widely criticised, but (being a singer of 'Isolde' and 'Elektra') she certainly injects an operatic drama into the proceedings (especially the opening of Part Two) and reinforces the fact that this is a work which stands outside the conventions of the British oratorio tradition.
A strong recommendation, and congratulations once again to Chandos, one of our most enterprising record companies.
Having also attended the actual performance, I was amazed at the clarity of the Chandos recording: textures that sounded blurred in the Albert Hall are here presented with fantastic clarity and detail. The performance as recorded is extremely good, with strong soloists, thrilling choral singing, superb orchestral playing and very little audience noise. The wide vibrato of the soprano soloist has been widely criticised, but (being a singer of 'Isolde' and 'Elektra') she certainly injects an operatic drama into the proceedings (especially the opening of Part Two) and reinforces the fact that this is a work which stands outside the conventions of the British oratorio tradition.
A strong recommendation, and congratulations once again to Chandos, one of our most enterprising record companies.
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