woodys-uk
Price: £22.17
In stock

8 used & new from £12.99

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Britten: War Requiem
 
See larger image
 

Britten: War Requiem

~ Benjamin Britten (Composer), Sir Simon Rattle (Conductor), Oxford Christ Church Cathedral Choir (Orchestra), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus (Orchestra), Elisabeth Söderström (Performer), et al.
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Available from these sellers.


2 new from £17.95 6 used from £12.99

Special Offers and Product Promotions


Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   The music of Britten opens new browser window
www.Boosey.com/Britten  -  Peter Grimes, War Requiem Ceremony of Carols, St Nicolas ... 
   Research Benjamin Britten opens new browser window
www.Questia.com  -  Access full-text academic books and journals. Research online - Questia 
  
 

Product details

  • Performer: Elisabeth Söderström, Robert Tear, Thomas Allen
  • Orchestra: Oxford Christ Church Cathedral Choir, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus
  • Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle
  • Composer: Benjamin Britten
  • Audio CD (1 Aug 1984)
  • SPARS Code: DDD
  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Label: EMI
  • ASIN: B000025OLF
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 101,055 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in these categories:

    #58 in  Music > Opera & Vocal > Song > Baritone
    #91 in  Music > Opera & Vocal > Song > Tenor

Disc: 1
1. Requiem aeternam
2. Dies irae
3. Offertorium
Disc: 2
1. Sanctus
2. Agnus Dei
3. Libera me


Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

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

 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Rattle takes up the challenge, 24 Jun 2004
As with any other recording of the War Requiem (or Peter Grimes or any other piece, that Britten himself recorded along with Peter Pears), I feel obliged to measure this one against Britten's own, fabulous 1963 recording out on Decca.

This recording is certainly up to the challenge: Rattle conducts his large forces with much drama and supports the singers, soloists as well as choir beutifully, so the text gets top priority. The orchestra and chamber group is responds beautifully to both the dramatic changes in the soundscape and the subtle hints also presented in this work.

The two "soldiers", Robert Tear and Thomas Allen delivers a more "muscular" approach than Pears/Fischer-Dieskau for Britten, but I find Pears better suited for this part. (One has to remember, that it was written for him, so that's really no wonder). Tear and Allen doesn't blend well with each other, vocally, but they sound more like soldiers and all in all more dramatic than their Decca counterparts.

Elisabeth Söderström delivers a stable performance which doesn't excite, but on the other hand is fully adequate for the part. Britten cast Heather Harper in the premiere performance (but not on his recording), and I can't say, if she is better suited than Söderström. Both the choir and boys choir are excellent and clearly audible.

The sound quality is marginally better on this recording than on the Decca, but if you can live without DDD sound, then go for Britten's own recording. If you have it already (or are looking for a slightly cheaper recording), this is definately the one to go for. It's by far the best of the rest. You should avoid the Naxos recording and be wary of the DGG/Gardiner recording, even though the latter has some merits.

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

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

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


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Eric Clapton - Why Are So Many Folks Down On Him?? 33 2 minutes ago
Fans 7 32 minutes ago
Arts on TV 40 55 minutes ago
Classical Top Totty.. 19 1 hour ago
Albums With Long Titles 19 1 hour ago
BEST COMPOSER ...EVER 415 1 hour ago
Postees Outing Early 2010...... 68 2 hours ago
   
Related forums


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Britten: War Requiem
41% buy
Britten: War Requiem 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£12.58
Britten: War Requiem
32% buy the item featured on this page:
Britten: War Requiem 4.0 out of 5 stars (1)
War Requiem/Morning Heroes (Rattle, Groves)
21% buy
War Requiem/Morning Heroes (Rattle, Groves)
£6.98
Britten: War Requiem
6% buy
Britten: War Requiem 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)

Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject




i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

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