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Benjamin Britten

Giulini conducts the War Requiem

1969. Royal Albert Hall, London
Carlo-Maria Giulini conducts a performance of Britten's 'War Requiem' in 1969
Composer Benjamin Britten
Conductors Benjamin Britten, Carlo Maria Giulini
Singers Peter Pears, Hans Wilbrink, Stefania Woytowicz
Ensembles Melos Ensemble, New Philharmonia Orchestra
Genre Choral concert

The great Italian conductor Carlo-Maria Giulini conducted this performance of the War Requiem some seven years after its premiere in 1962.  The composer himself conducted the chamber orchestra (the Melos Ensemble).  As in the première, Peter Pears sings the tenor role, alongside the Polish soprano Stefania Woytowicz and Dutch baritone Hans Wilbrink.

Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976)

War Requiem

  1. Requiem aeternam
    1. Requiem aeternam (chorus and boys’ choir)
    2. “What passing bells” (tenor solo) – “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
    3. Kyrie eleison (chorus)
  2. Dies irae
    1. Dies irae (chorus)
    2. “Bugles sang” (baritone solo) – Owen’s “But I was Looking at the Permanent Stars”
    3. Liber scriptus (soprano solo and semi-chorus)
    4. “Out there, we walked quite friendly up to death” (tenor and baritone soli) – Owen’s “The Next War”
    5. Recordare (women’s chorus)
    6. Confutatis (men’s chorus)
    7. “Be slowly lifted up” (baritone solo) – Owen’s “Sonnet on Seeing a Piece of our Heavy Artillery Brought into Action”
    8. Reprise of Dies irae (chorus)
    9. Lacrimosa (soprano and chorus) interspersed with “Move him, move him” (tenor solo) – Owen’s “Futility”
  3. Offertorium
    1. Domine Jesu Christe (boys’ choir)
    2. Sed signifer sanctus (chorus)
    3. Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
    4. Isaac and Abram (tenor and baritone soli) – Owen’s “The Parable of the Old Man and the Young”
    5. Hostias et preces tibi (boys’ choir)
    6. Reprise of Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
  4. Sanctus
    1. Sanctus and Benedictus (soprano solo and chorus)
    2. “After the blast of lightning” (baritone solo) – Owen’s “The End”
  5. Agnus Dei
    1. Agnus Dei (chorus) interspersed with “One ever hangs” (chorus; tenor solo) – Owen’s “At a Calvary near the Ancre”
  6. Libera me
    1. Libera me (soprano solo and chorus)
    2. Strange Meeting (“It seemed that out of battle I escaped”) (tenor and baritone soli) – Owen’s “Strange Meeting”
    3. In paradisum (organ, boys’ chorus, soprano and mixed chorus)
    4. Conclusion – Requiem Aeternam and Requiescant in Pace (organ, boys’ choir and mixed chorus.

This recording was made from a relay of a concert given at the Royal Albert Hall on 6 April 1969.

The recording is in the Tolansky-Tschaikov Collection at Music Preserved.

Unfortunately there is some “echo” audible in the background during this recording, due to a fault on the original tape.

  • Stefania Woytowicz
    Soprano
  • Peter Pears
    Tenor
  • Hans Wilbrink
    Baritone
  • New Philharmonia Chorus
  • Wandsworth School Boys' Choir
  • Melos Ensemble
  • New Philharmonia Orchestra
  • Benjamin Britten
    Conductor (Melos Ensemble)
  • Carlo-Maria Giulini
    Conductor

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