Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
13 used & new from £17.16
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Available to Download Now
 
Buy the MP3 album for £13.98
  
 
 
 
Britten: War Requiem [Hybrid SACD]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Britten: War Requiem [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD] [SACD]

~ Christian Gerhaher (Baritone), Helmuth Rilling (Composer, Conductor), Robin Engelen (Conductor), Festivalensemble Stuttgart (Ensemble), Stuttgart Festival Orchestra (Orchestra), et al.
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Price: £25.39 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, July 14? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
11 new from £19.42 2 used from £17.16
Buy the MP3 album for £13.98 at the Amazon MP3 Downloads store.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Debut

Debut

~ Sophie Cashell
4.0 out of 5 stars (6)  £10.88
Bach, J.S.: Violin Concertos

Bach, J.S.: Violin Concertos

~ Julia Fischer
4.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £12.98
Holst - Orchestral Works, Vol 1

Holst - Orchestral Works, Vol 1

~ Holst
4.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £11.98
Requiem Op.5 ""Grande Messe des Morts

Requiem Op.5 ""Grande Messe des Morts

~ Hector Berlioz
£27.39
Chopin - Piano Sonatas Nos 2 & 3

Chopin - Piano Sonatas Nos 2 & 3

~ Frederic Chopin
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £12.69
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Orchestra: Stuttgart Festival Orchestra
  • Conductor: Helmuth Rilling, Robin Engelen
  • Composer: Helmuth Rilling
  • Audio CD (10 Nov 2008)
  • Please Note: Requires SACD-compatible hardware
  • SPARS Code: DDD
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Format: Hybrid SACD, SACD
  • Label: Hanssler Classics
  • ASIN: B0019M82BW
  • Other Editions: MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 20,044 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in this category:

    #22 in  Music > Opera & Vocal > Choral > Religious > Requiem

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Bible Summer Sale
   www.WesleyOwen.com/Bargain_Bibles    UpTo 50% Off Over 1,000s Bibles Free Delivery - Orders over £5.00 
  
 

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars A new version for the shelves, and creative engineering at its best, 23 May 2009
By P. D. Allen (Eltham, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Without doubt the most mellifluous, flowing and musical version of this landmark twentieth century masterpiece that I know (I also have Britten (1963) on LP, Guilini (live, 1969) and Rattle (1983) on CD, and Hickox (1991) on SACD). This may not be the most intense or dramatic version; but it makes its emotional and intellectual points effectively and movingly. The singers are all good, and the choral and orchestral forces under Helmuth Rilling are disciplined and expressive.

It is also a recording of great clarity and beauty of sound. I have not listened to the stereo CD or SACD layers, but can be reasonably sure they will sound excellent.

I listen in surround, and found that this is not the normal "ambient" surround recording I was expecting. It is what I call a "discrete" surround mix. The full choir and orchestra are placed in front of the listener. The soprano is on the front right; the tenor and the baritone with the chamber orchestra on the left. The children's choir and organ occupy the rear sound-stage.

Discrete surround mixes are not usually associated with classical music, except with electronic music (try "Gestures" on Mode 97 - Morton Subotnick V1), or explicitly spatial music for "conventional" forces, such as Kalevi Aho's excellent Symphony No.12 (BIS SACD1676). How then to judge the present recording? Most classical music is recorded in ambient surround because the entirely valid intent is to reproduce as closely as possible the experience of listening to that music in a public place. But this limitation is a product of history and circumstance. What does the music sound like in the head of the composer, or the conductor studying the score?

This is not the place to argue the pros and cons of more radical studio recording productions such as we have here, except to observe that in other musical genres (think Beatles or Pink Floyd) the studio recording is just that in creative terms, not necessarily related to the same works as they could be, or are, played in public.

In this case I like the result very much, except that, as described above, the direct sound field occupies three sides of the listening space, leaving the right side rather oddly empty. The best thing I can do is describe some of the musical effects, and let readers judge for themselves.

Thus, here we have in II Dies Irae, the second "Dies irae, dies illa" chorus with soprano at the front, followed by the poem "Move him into the sun..", sung by the tenor on the left side towards the rear. After the tenor's first verse, the soprano and choir achingly interrupt the tenor with their third and fourth verses, a line at a time. The layout means that the tenor and soprano sing across the room to each other diagonally, antiphonally rather than alternately forwards towards the audience as in an auditorium.

Where just the full orchestra and choir are employed, the recording shows its excellence in conventional terms. The full orchestra is strong and clear, forward of the front speakers. The choir is clearly behind the orchestra, and appears to be higher. The choral sound is not at all dry, rather sweet and coherent but very clear, and even when all sections are singing together each group can be easily distinguished in its space. Turn to the inside back page of the booklet, and there is the orchestra at floor level; behind them is a ten foot high platform where the choristers sit in rising tiers.

In III Offertorium, the tenor and baritone sing "So Abram rose, and clave the wood.." on the left. Towards the end of the poem, the children's choir, gorgeously pellucid, rise gently in accompaniment behind the listener. Magic.

The climax is riveting. The tenor ("It seemed that out of battle I escaped/Down some profound dull tunnel..) and baritone ("..I am the enemy you killed, my friend./I knew you in this dark..") sing their poems, and then together, repeatedly, they sing the reconciliatory "Let us sleep now..." on the left. The children's choir joins them, swelling from behind the listener, their sound now biased a little to the right; the full chorus enters across the front stage, and finally the soprano front right. It feels like a flower blossoming up around you, the whole then receding into a reverent silence.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Britten: War Requiem [Hybrid SACD]
56% buy the item featured on this page:
Britten: War Requiem [Hybrid SACD] 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£25.39
Britten: War Requiem
22% buy
Britten: War Requiem 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£12.68
Quatuor Ébène Performs Ravel, Debussy & Fauré
12% buy
Quatuor Ébène Performs Ravel, Debussy & Fauré 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£10.88
Britten: War Requiem
9% buy
Britten: War Requiem
£8.98
Explore similar items

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

Up to 75% off Shoes

Shoe Clearance - 75% off Shoes
Save up to 75% on shoes for the whole family.

›Shop clearance shoes

  

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

›Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (72)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (460)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (162)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates