NSOI: Britten’s War Requiem

National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Anja Bihlmaier conductor
Ailish Tynan soprano
Laurence Kilsby tenor
Joshua Hopkins baritone
National Symphony Chorus Ireland
David Young chorus director
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Choristers of St Patrick’s Cathedral 
Stuart Nicholson Master of the Music

Britten War Requiem 

A towering masterpiece of the 20th century, Britten’s pacifist masterpiece was written to mark the re-opening of Coventry Cathedral in 1962 after the destructive damage during the Second World War. Among the greatest settings of a liturgical text, it combines the Latin Mass with the poems on the horrors of war, by British soldier and poet Wilfred Owen and has been described as “an enormous contraption of musical ingenuity” and “devastating and unforgettable” (The Guardian). 

It remains a deeply relevant meditation on conflict and reconciliation. A tribute to Benjamin Britten in the 50th anniversary year of his death, it will be performed by National Symphony Orchestra Ireland with National Symphony Chorus Ireland, Choristers of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and RTÉ Concert Orchestra, together with soloists soprano Ailish Tynan, tenor Laurence Kilsby, and baritone Joshua Hopkins, under the expert direction of Anja Bihlmaier. War Requiem endures as one of the most powerful and relevant musical works of the 20th century.

Presented by NCH