Britten: War Requiem / Ancerl, Czech Philharmonic

$10.99
Label
Supraphon
Release Date
July 30, 2013
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      BRITTEN, BENJAMIN
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Prague Philharmonic Choir
    • PERFORMER
      Kniplova, English, Cameron, Subrtova, Soukupova, Blachut, Kuhn Children'S
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      July 30, 2013
    • UPC
      099925413521
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      SU4135-2
    • LABEL
      Supraphon
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Choral - Sacred
    Works ⌄

    1. Requiem aeternam

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Naděžda Kniplová, Gerald English, John Cameron

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    2. Dies Irae

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Naděžda Kniplová, Gerald English, John Cameron

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    3. Offertorium

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Naděžda Kniplová, Gerald English, John Cameron

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    4. Sanctus

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Naděžda Kniplová, Gerald English, John Cameron

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    5. Agnus Dei

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Naděžda Kniplová, Gerald English, John Cameron

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    6. Libera Me

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Naděžda Kniplová, Gerald English, John Cameron

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    7. The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell, Op. 34

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Tschechische Philharmonie

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    8. Part I: Introduction

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    9. Part I: The Merry Cuckoo

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    10. Part I: Spring, the Sweet Spring

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    11. Part I: The Driving Boy

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    12. Part I: The Morning Star

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    13. Part II: Welcome Maids of Honour

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    14. Part II: Waters above

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    15. Part II: Out on the Lawn I lie in Bed

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    16. Part III: When will my May come

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    17. Part III: Fair and Fair

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    18. Part III: Sound the Flute

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl

    19. Part IV: Finale

      Composer: Benjamin Britten

      Ensemble: Kühn Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

      Performer: Milada Šubrtová, Věra Soukupová, Beno Blachut

      Conductor: Karel Ančerl


Benjamin Britten’s music formed one of the pillars of the Czech Philharmonic’s concert programmes under its chief conductor Karel Ančerl. The famous Variations on a Theme of Purcell was in all likelihood the most frequently performed work (in 1962 also in England), and this CD contains the previously unreleased 1958 recording in the original version without narration.

The enchanting and joyous Spring Symphony, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky, was presented in Czech in Prague by Ančerl, the Czech Philharmonic and the finest soloists of the time. Forming a stark contrast to these two works is the War Requiem, a grand piece commemorating the victims of the most gruesome armed conflict in human history. Britten dedicated it to the memory of four friends of his who died in WWII while serving in the British navy or army. The work’s Czech premiere, with the participation of superlative foreign soloists (Gerald English, John Cameron), took place less than four years after its world premiere. So enthused was he by the work that in November 1969, following his emigration to Canada, Ančerl included the War Requiem in one of his first concerts in Toronto. The conductor’s personal profound experience of the senseless barbarity of the war imbued his conception of the work with a chilling authenticity. Both of the two previously unreleased concert recordings were made by the former Czechoslovak Radio.