“War is sweet to those who have no experience of it, but the experienced man trembles exceedingly at heart on its approach.” Unfortunately, little has changed since the Greek poet Pindar wrote those words 2600 years ago.
Benjamin Britten’s powerful and moving “War Requiem” was written in 1961-62 for the consecration of a rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, after the original 14th century structure was destroyed by bombs during World War II. The work interweaves poetry of Wilfred Owen with traditional texts from the Mass for the Dead. Owen was killed in action in 1918, one week before the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. The “War Requiem” became an instant classic, embraced by audiences and critics around the world and documented on a recording that became an unlikely bestseller.
Britten’s masterpiece will be performed at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium, in Alexander Hall, tonight and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Vocal soloists Sarah Pelletier, William Burden, and Andrew Garland will join the combined forces of the Princeton University Glee Club, Princeton Pro Musica, the Princeton High School Women’s Choir, and the Princeton University Orchestra, conducted by Michael Pratt. The performances take place in a year that marks the centenary of the end of World War I, which went into effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
Because of the work’s massive demands, seating will be even more limited than usual, with the performers spilling off the stage and into the audience. Can’t get in? Join us tonight on The Classical Network to hear a live broadcast, beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Filmmakers, and writers before them, have long realized that nothing heightens the affect of romantic passion in narrative form quite like the turbulent backdrop of war. War supplies impediments, spectacle, often tragedy – and possibly even a few Oscars.
This week on “Picture Perfect,” there will be plenty of valor, nobility, and sacrifice to tug at the heart strings, as we examine love in time of war, with music from “Casablanca” (Max Steiner), “Doctor Zhivago” (Maurice Jarre), “The English Patient” (Gabriel Yared), and “Cyrano de Bergerac” (Dimitri Tiomkin). Join me for an hour of impossible love, missed opportunities, and doomed romance, this Friday evening at 6:00 EDT.
Then stay tuned for Britten’s “War Requiem,” beginning at 7:30, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
