Britten: War Requiem Orchestral & Concertos LSO Live

Britten: War Requiem

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LS 0719

Britten: War Requiem

Label Catalogue Number:
LSO0719

Running Time: 83:48

Release Date: May 2012
Originally recorded in 2011

Composer
Benjamin Britten

Solo soprano
Sabina Cvilak

Solo tenor
Ian Bostridge

Baritone Voice bass
Simon Keenlyside

Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra

Choral
London Symphony Chorus

Choral
Choir of Eltham College

Conductor
Gianandrea Noseda

Producer
James Mallinson

Engineer
Neil Hutchinson

Engineer
Jonathan Stokes

Venue 9&11 Oct 2011
The Barbican, London

Genre:
Orchestral & Concertos

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War Requiem, Op.66

BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Requiem Aeternam

Requiem aeternam chorus

3:37

Te decet hymnus boys' chorus, chorus)

3:00

'What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?' (tenor)

2:37

Kyrie eleison (chorus)

1:32

Dies Irae

Dies irae (chorus)

3:32

'Bugles sang, saddening the evening air' (baritone)

2:32

Liber scriptus (soprano, chorus)

3:00

'Out there, we've walked quite friendly up to Death' (tenor, baritone)

1:42

Recordare lesu pie (Chorus)

3:51

10.

Confutatis maledictis (chorus)

1:05

11.

'Be slowly lifted up, thou long black arm' (baritone)

2:10

12.

Dies irae (soprano, chorus)

3:00

13.

'Move him into the sun' (tenor, soprano, chorus)

4:11

14.

Pie lesu Domine (chorus)

1:35

Offertorium

15.

Domine lesu Christe (boys' chorus)

1:18

16.

Sed signifer sanctus (chorus)

1:51

17.

'So Abram rose, and clave the wood' (baritone, tenor)

3:22

18.

Hostias et preces tibi (tenor, baritone, boys' chorus, chorus)

2:40

Sanctus

19.

Sanctus (soprano, chorus)

7:05

20.

'After the blast of lightning from the East' (baritone)

3:34

Agnus Dei

21.

'One ever hangs where shelled roads part'/Agnus Dei (tenor, chorus)

3:10

Libera Me

22.

Libera me (soprano, chorus)

8:02

23.

'It seemd that out of battle I escaped' (tenor)

2:50

24.

'None', said the other' (baritone)

6:50

25.

'Let us sleep now...' / In paradisum (tenor, baritone, soprano, boys'chorus, chorus)

4:26

26.

Requiescant in pace (chorus)

1:16

83:48

Solo: Sabina Cvilak soprano

Solo: Ian Bostridge tenor

Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra

Choral: London Symphony Chorus

Joseph Cullen - chorus director

Choral: Choir of Eltham College

Alastair Tighe - director

Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda

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Reviews

"... The surround sound is glorious, placing the boys’ choir in the rear speakers, just as Culshaw tried to do in the upper balcony of Kingsway Hall … I hear only a magnificent re-creation of this masterpiece as it has always sounded in my mind since hearing it for the first time."

Fanfare

"... This is a searing recording, a match for the very best and more powerful than any other version I know in communicating Britten’s anti-war agenda. Fifty years on, here is a War Requiem for our own troubled times."

Mark Valencia - ClasscalSource.com - 30 May 2012

Multichannel Disc of the Month

"50 years after the premiere we are treated to an outstanding performance, proving that the War Requiem is still relevant. All of the forces, including the star-studded soloists are excellent, and this 50th-anniversary release of the premiere performance is memorable indeed."

Steven Ritter - Audiophile Audition - 16 July 2012

Recording of the Month

"I doubt anyone in the hall was not moved - and moved mightily - by this most profound performance. It seems almost sacrilegious, in this sombre context, to cheer the conductor, soloists, orchestra, choirs and engineers but they deserve it. This is a triumph for all concerned. What I would have given to be at the Barbican that night. Still, we have an unforgettable record of that event, even if - as is usually the case - it’s assembled from more than one performance. Does it supplant Britten’s own? No, and I doubt anything ever could. That said, I can’t emphasise more strongly how compelling this newcomer is, and how important that anyone who knows and loves the War Requiem should hear it."

Dan Morgan - MusicWeb-International.com - July 2012

"...Gianandrea Noseda,conducting the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, presents a full-blooded rendition of Britten’s War Requiem. Featuring a stellar line-up of soloists, including Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside and Sabina Cvilak, as well the Choir of Eltham College this recording sets a new benchmark for this epic work. Incredible orchestral playing impeccable singing. Highly recommended"

The Northern Echo (UK)

"...The LSO and the London Symphony Chorus are the performance’s rock: they start on top form and stay that way. Another essential recording"

The Times

"... [This is] an epic version that doesn’t sacrifice the obvious emotion of the choral passages’ ’une version porteuse d’un souffle épique évident sans sacrifier l’émotion des passages choraux" *** (3 * max)

Point de Vue (France)

"... Noseda offers an account rich in drama and is excellent at knitting together the Latin sections to commentary on war, forging a sense of momentum and cohesion … Noseda paces the music perfectly, drawing playing and singing of great beauty from his forces … this performance is incredibly moving and as fine a modern account as one could wish for … no other orchestra can boast such a pedigree in this work on disc"

International Record Review

"... [Noseda’s] understanding of the relationship between ritual devotion and political anger in Britten’s great pacifist statement is marvellously acute …The choral singing is fervent and intense, the playing fierce and sensitive by turns. Sabina Cvilak is thrilling"

The Guardian

"... The LSO and its Chorus are on cracking form, and the soloists are as good as you will get Sabina Cvilak sings with a freshness and edge that make you sit up Noseda’s dramatic, pulsating account represents another landmark" *****

The Financial Times

"... Gianandrea Noseda is an expert in Britten´s music, superiorly conducting this big and sophisticated orchestra Sabina Cvilak’s superior handling of the difficult soprano part and male colleagues (Bostridge and Keenlyside) were both marvelous heirs to Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau" *****

Rondo magazine (Germany)

CD of the Week

"... Noseda proves to be more that a worthy substitute [for Colin Davis], easily encompassing the dramatic scale of the work Ian Bostridge’s tenor is as individual and idiosyncratic as Pears’s ..."

The Sunday Times

Performance **** Recording ****

"... this is an important issue: noseda’s judgement of pace is unerring, and the orchestra and chorus simply superb."

Helen Wallace - BBC Music magazine - June 2012

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