May 13, 2010
San Diego Premiere of Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem"
La Jolla, Calif. (May 13, 2010) — concludes the 55th season with music director Steven Schick leading the orchestra, chorus, and special guests soprano Kathleen Halm, tenor Chad Frisque, bass-baritone Abdiel Gonzalez, and the St. Paul Cathedral Choristers’ youth chorus in the local premiere of Benjamin Britten’s monumental War Requiem.
Britten wrote War Requiem for the consecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, which had been destroyed in World War II. The commission had strong appeal for Britten, a devout pacifist who had long tried to make that conviction central to his work. Given freedom of performers and type of music, he conceived a setting of the Latin Mass for the Dead and scored it for very large forces: three soloists, boys choir, adult choir, orchestra, and separate chamber orchestra. To the text of the Requiem Mass, he made an important addition, splicing nine poems about war by the English poet Wilfred Owen into the Latin test.
Owen, who was born in 1893, was serving as the commander of a rifle company when he was killed in action on November 4, 1918, just one week before the Armistice. Although he was virtually unknown at the time of his death, he has subsequently come to be revered as one of the great war poets. Regarding the score, Britten himself acknowledged the stylistic influence of the Requiems of other composers, such as Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, on his own composition.
The premiere took place on May 30, 1962, in the new cathedral, with Britten conducting. There was a profound silence between the final notes and the applause. War Requiem had an impact matched by few works in the twentieth century and was hailed by critics and audiences as a contemporary masterpiece.
The LJS&C performances take place June 5-6, 2010 in Mandeville Auditorium at UCSD. Concert times are 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Individual tickets are $29 general, $26 senior, and $15 student. Group discounts are available. Parking is free. A pre-concert lecture is offered one hour prior to concert times given by noted program annotator Eric Bromberger. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the LJS&C office at (858) 534-4637
The La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, San Diego’s oldest and largest community orchestra and chorus, is a non-profit musical performing group dedicated to inspiring San Diego with the joy of music. Its 110-person orchestra and 130-person chorus perform groundbreaking orchestral and choral music along with traditional favorites from the classical repertoire. During the 55th season, maestro Steven Schick shares the podium with Choral Director David Chase.
