Atmosphere Defeated: Britten's War Requiem at Royal Albert Hall
War Requiem | Benjamin Britten Soprano | Sabina Cvilak Tenor | Allan Clayton (In for the indisposed Andrew Kennedy) Baritone | Roderick Williams Conductor | Semyon Bychkov Off-Stage Conductor | James O'Donnell BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Crouch End Festival Chorus Choristers of Westminster Abbey General information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Requiem ___________________________________________________________________________________ My first exposure to Britten's War Requiem was last spring when Lawrence University's orchestra and choirs mounted a concert for the piece with professional soloists. That experience was particularly moving for me. We put a lot of work into that piece both musically and emotionally, and the result was stunning. Especially touching was the conductor's pause for 30 seconds at the end of the piece in silence. I preface this review with this for two reasons. One, it was wonderful to be able to finally s...