Britten - War Requiem, Op. 66

Coventy Cathedral

 Royal Festival Hall
 Sunday 25 Mar 2012 7:30pm


 Lorin Maazel

 Nancy Gustafson
 Mark Padmore
 Matthias Goerne

 Philharmonia Orchestra
 Philharmonia Chorus
 Philharmonia Voices
 Tiffin Boys Choir     

I very much enjoyed joining the Philharmonia Chorus to sing in this performance of the War Requiem, and was reminded what a spectacular piece of music it is. The final duet, the setting of Wilfred Owen's 'Strange Meeting' between two dead enemy soldiers, is spine-chilling, and as a consequence the 'In paradisum' that follows is so unsettling and disturbing - no reassurance of heavenly peace here. In terms of the performance, here are the reviews. The Evening Standard (Barry Millington)  ««« The Arts Desk (Alexandra Coghlan) Classical Source (Mark Valencia)   Bach Track (David Fay) ««««« Music OMH (Melanie Eskanazi)  «««« The Guardian (Martin Kettle) «««« The Times (Geoff Brown) ««« (You'll need a subscription to view the Times review.  He mentioned 'a heart beating in the warm blend of the Philharmonia Choir (sic), the Philharmonia Voices and the pristine piping of the Tiffin Boy's Choir', and talked of the 'anguish in Mark Padmore's tenor'). Flamescourer's blog