Released 1963 Length 1:31:24 Release date 1963 Label Decca Records | Recorded 1963 Artist Benjamin Britten Producer John Culshaw Genre Classical music | |
Classical music albums This England, Elect the Dead Symphony, Days of Future Passed, Dimensions, Ça Ira | ||
Britten s war requiem 1963 recording cd 1
Britten's War Requiem (1963) is the first recording of Britten's War Requiem. It featured Galina Vishnevskaya, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Peter Pears with the London Symphony Orchestra and The Bach Choir and was conducted by Britten himself. The recording took place in the Kingsway Hall in London and was produced by John Culshaw for Decca. Within five months of its release in May 1963 it sold 200,000 copies, an unheard-of number for a piece of contemporary classical music at that time. Britten wrote the music with the performers in this recording in mind. He did not originally intend to have a female soloist but hearing Vishnevskaya sing at Aldeburgh inspired him to include one Fischer-Diskau and Pears sang at the first performance however Vishnevskaya was unable due to visa restrictions imposed by the USSR because the piece was seen as "too political". She was however permitted to appear in the recording sessions meaning Britten's intended line-up of a singer from each of Russia, Germany and the UK was achieved.
Contents
- Britten s war requiem 1963 recording cd 1
- Britten war requiem
- Recording set up
- Rehearsal Taping
- Design
- Reception
- References
Recording producer John Culshaw reports that Vishnevskaya threw a tantrum during the recording, as she believed – not having performed the work before – she was being insulted by being placed with the choir instead of at the front with the male soloists.
Britten war requiem
Recording set up
Culshaw praised Britten for his understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the technical side of stereo recording. They discussed the recording set up in depth and placed each of the three distinct forces – Britten wrote the piece in three distinct planes or levels – in appropriate locations. The two male soloists, representing two soldiers, and the chamber orchestra which accompanies them were placed to the right of the space in a dry acoustic to capture verbal clarity and to more accurately portray Britten's directions in the score which frequently called for a "cold" tone. The large forces of the Mass itself – soprano soloist, chorus and orchestra – were placed in the centre of the hall with the chorus in the gallery which gave the desired level of reverberation – implying the large space of a cathedral without losing too much definition. The boys chorus and small organ were placed to the left of the space to create the sense of distance Britten wanted.
Rehearsal Taping
During rehearsals John Culshaw surreptitiously taped footage which was presented as a special vinyl record with its own catalogue number, BB50, to Britten on his 50th birthday. Britten was not particularly happy about this invasion on his privacy and the present was not positively received. Despite his initial negativity Britten later sent a postcard to John Culshaw thanking him for his "intelligent and thoughtful work on it". The tape was kept in a cupboard at Britten's home, The Red House, Aldeburgh and was first revisited for the 1999 Decca reissue.
Design
The striking and simplistic design of the original record, which has been retained in reissues, has been frequently praised and attributed to helping the early success of the record. The design was initially conceived by Boosey & Hawkes for the published scores.
Reception
The recording was exceptionally well received. Gramophone in their review of the first release praised John Culshaw and his team and said "the stereo reproduces the three different planes of sound even more convincingly than any 'live' performance could". The Daily Mail reported that "the Requiem is the highest point of a career that has made Britten one of the world's richest composers". At the 1963 Grammy Awards the album won Classical Album of the Year