Benjamin Britten wrote his War Requiem Op 66 in 1961, completing it in January 1962. It was first performed on 30 May 1962 in the UK's new Coventry Cathedral, which replaced the lost fourteenth century building destroyed during a World War II bombing raid. The work interleaves the Latin text of the Requiem mass with poems by Wifred Owen (1893-1918) written during World War I.
Ensemble. Excitement at Coventry Cathedral - Roderic Dunnett experiences Nitin Sawhney's new work 'Ghosts in the Ruins'
Ensemble. War and Peace - Giuseppe Pennisi reports from the Sagra Musicale Umbra Festival
Ensemble. Britten and Owen - A double bill from Sinfonia Viva and The Lost Boys, reviewed by Mike Wheeler
Ensemble. Sing ye to the Lord - Roderic Dunnett was at the 2009 Hereford Three Choirs Festival
DVD Spotlight. Understandably Controversial - Derek Jarman's 'War Requiem', reviewed by Howard Smith. '... cutting room virtuosity.'
Ensemble - Truly chilling. David Thompson listens to Britten's 'War Requiem' in London