Britten: War Requiem; Sinfonia da Requiem; Ballad of Heroes

Benjamin Britten (Composer), Richard Hickox (Conductor), London Symphony Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), London Symphony Chorus (Orchestra), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), London Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra (Orchestra), Roderick Elms (Performer), Heather Harper (Performer), Martyn Hill (Performer), Philip Langridge (Performer), John Shirley-Quirk (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Roderick Elms, Heather Harper, Martyn Hill, Philip Langridge, John Shirley-Quirk
• Orchestra: London Symphony Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra
• Conductor: Richard Hickox
• Composer: Benjamin Britten
• Audio CD (September 30, 1992)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B000000ANS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #185,708 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While not quite the equal of Britten's own performance, Richard Hickox's version is so good that it's pointless to quibble about this or that detail. It also has two big advantages over the composer's own recording: stunning digital sound and two spectacularly performed couplings that are related in subject and mood to the main work. In fact, if you have room for only one Britten disc in you collection, this should be it. You get a comprehensive overview of the issues that concerned this most compassionate of composers: the horror of war, the corruption of innocence, and the firm belief in the power of hope. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The War Requiem that tops even Britten's own recording, March 26, 2002

By	Brian M. Kulesza (Joliet, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I own three different recordings of Britten's War Requiem (his own recording on Decca; the EMI recording with Simon Rattle conducting, which is a close second in my view; and this Richard Hickox recording, which I purchased as soon as it was released several years ago).

This one is still the tops in overall sound quality, interpretation and sheer power. If anyone has ever hesitated in trying to get to know this work, or is new to classical music and exploring, or loves Britten's War Requiem and wants the best recording available, this one is it, hands down. I have never heard a performance of the "Sanctus" with as much depth and luminosity as this one.

By the way, many other Richard Hickox recordings on the Chandos label are worth exploring, but for the sake of brevity, I will not list them here.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential recording, February 23, 2002

By A Customer

I doubt that we will ever have a recording of the War Requiem that will top this one overall. The soloists, chorus, orchestra and musical interpretation are all first rate. The audio engineering has created an extremely open sound with perfect balance between the chorus and the soloists. The result of all this technical and artistic brilliance is a profoundly moving experience for the listener, who is left with feelings of awe and angst, which is almost certainly what Britten wanted. Given the present mood of the world, the anti-war sentiments contained in this Requiem may not sit well with some, but they are valid and true, nonetheless. This is Britten's masterpiece and is certainly one of the greatest musical compositions of the twentieth century. Someday, its greatness will be widely recognized.

Oddly, what is perhaps the highlight of this CD comes not in the Requiem, but in the Ballad for Heroes. The choral climax in the third section is truly overwhelming. Having never heard the work before, I was totally unprepared for it and was nearly brought to tears.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comparing Hickox to other War Requiems, September 20, 2006

By	Santa Fe listener - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewers below who are so enthusiastic about Hickox's 1991 War Requiem, the best in the thirty years after the premiere recording. I've heard various other sets, which struck me as follows: John Eliot Gardiner's on DG, recorded with a German orchestra and his own Monteverdi Choir, has unlistenable, shrill sonics and soloists not well attuned to Owen's poetry. Rattle is much better (EMI) but feels a little underplayed to me, despite excellent forces all around. Masur with the NY Phil. (Teldec) is much too cautious, despite the excellent duo of Thomas Hampson and Jerry Hadley in the male solo parts. A budget issue from Naxos recorded at a summer festival in Scotland, directed by Martyn Brabbins, is quite powerful and direct, with particularly excellent choral work but too-literal soloists. A live reading under Giulini on BBC Legends finds Peter Pears singing with even mire passion than on the premiere recording -- it's a nearly great performance despite so-so broadcast sonics.

Which narrows the choice down to Britten's Decca recording and this one, both with the London Sym. Both also have excellent sonics, though Chandos's digital engineering is more close-up and impactful. It adds to the forceful drama of Hickox's interpretation, contrasted with the more elegaic, mournful tone of Britten's. If you want maximum excitement, this is the recording to get. In the solo parts, I recognize the unique position Peter Pears occupied in Britten's music, but for beauty of voice, he's bettered by Langridge for Hickox, who's nearly as sensitive and poetic.

Between the two baritones, I have no hesitation preferring Shirley-Quirk over Fischer-Dieskau. Britten was making a pacifist point by picking a singer from Germany in the post-Nazi era, but F-D's command of English can't compare to Shirley-Quirk's, who also blessedly lacks F-D's bark. Neither soprano is ideal, Vishnevskaya being too piercing (as Slavic sopranos tend to be) and Heather Harper, although graceful and sincere, past her prime.

On both sets the LSO plays magnificently, and the various choirs, adult and children's, are exemplary--but again, Hickox's dramatic thrust and the closer miking from Chandos give more visceral impact to the choruses in his recording. I've tried to impartially summarize each version, and overall I am glad to own both. If you wanted only one? My choice would be the Hickox, for the reasons already stated.