War Requiem review – in the cathedral where it premiered, Britten’s masterpiece has lost none of its power
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performed Benjamin Britten's War Requiem at Coventry Cathedral, marking both Armistice Day and 50 years since the composer's death.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performed Benjamin Britten's War Requiem at Coventry Cathedral, marking both Armistice Day and 50 years since the composer's death. The work, premiered at the cathedral's consecration in 1962, has lost none of its power or relevance, with Wilfred Owen's texts still shocking audiences and Britten's explosive passages continuing to resonate.
Historical significance
The premiere left its German baritone soloist Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau 'completely undone'. Sculptor Barbara Hepworth, listening on the radio, declared herself 'profoundly moved'. Britten described it as a 'call for peace'; critics unanimously called it a 'masterpiece'.
Performance highlights
The moments that will stay with me, though, were Britten's radical shifts from the intimacy of just a few musical lines to the monumental sweep of brass, thunderous percussion, hundreds of voices – all raised together in protest and in hope.
Under conductor Kazuki Yamada, the performance featured a vast ensemble of instrumentalists and singers. The cathedral's acoustics posed challenges, yet words miraculously survived from the exquisitely polished CBSO Chorus and the ethereal upper voices of the CBSO Youth Chorus and Trinity Boys Choir.
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