Search - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Benjamin Britten, Melos Ensemble of London :: Britten: War Requiem

Great music, great recording

philvscott | Marrickville, New South Wales Australia | 07/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The review from OperaOnline is piffle. Britten's War Requiem is a great and moving piece of music, a masterpiece, full of wonderful melody which lodges in the mind as much as anything by Puccini or Rachmaninov. As performed here by the composer and his original forces (more or less- Vishnevskaya was not allowed to travel to Britain for the premiere) it is a set for every true music lover to cherish.

As for that review, I don't care whether it's from Opera Online or not, it's pig-headedly wrong. Take no notice. It just demonstrates that online reviews are not to be trusted: any old curmudgeon with peculiar personal prejudices can go online and misinform at will. I write professionally for Fanfare Magazine and I reckon this set is a must. You probably have it already anyway, as it has been constantly available in one form or another for over 40 years, a fact that speaks volumes.



PS Since posting the above, I have checked out OperaOnline's other reviews, and the site where they initially appear. A lack of bylines suggests there are a number of people reviewing for the site, but I don't know how many. They/he/she seems to know their onions when it comes to the mainstream operatic repertoire- although one person's opinion is simply that, period. Nevertheless, someone from OperaOnline who posts their reviews here is allergic to 20th century music, a silly blanket condemnation of a body of music more diverse than that of any previous period in history. Not only to Britten: their peculiar antipathies go as far back as Janacek.

As G. Yang says, why go public to display yoiur ignorance? (Unless, of course, you choose to remain anonymous.)"

A Safe Bet

Samuel Stephens | TN, USA | 10/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Britten's reading is raw, transparent, vicious, thunderous, and very original. Especially nice is to actually understand the words of the two male soloists without having to refer to the booklet. His soloists are strong and clear, his choruses are tip-top perfect, the LSO is divine. It's hard to say something bad about this performance, except perhaps that Vishnevskaya can be slightly grating in certain sections.

In a lot of ways I like Robert Shaw's more "glossed" "mainstream" performance, and that performance also has a lot of punch behind it, especially the purely orchestra/chorus sections. Britten's of course, is definitive. It certainly is the strongest case to convince you of the effectiveness of the integrated texts. In the Shaw version you can hardly make English text from latin text because of the thickness of voice of tenor and bass.

So get this and enjoy the music, as well as the very revealing and funny rehearsals tagged on at the end of disc 2. This is a safe five-star recommendation."

20th Century Masterpiece

Frank Pagani | Westchester, New YorkYor | 07/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is a 'must' addition for anyone's collection of great 20th century music. It is conducted by the composer, Benjamin Britten, and is as moving as when the War Requiem was first heard more than 45 years ago. And the quality of the London recording captures the powerful and huge ensemble of soloists, musicians and choirs that came together for this historic recording. Listen and weep for the 'the pity of war.'"