Review: REQUIEM CRIES FOR PEACE

WORLD PEACE CONCERT

War Requiem (Op. 66), Benjamin Britten

by Stephanie Green

BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S War Requiem (Op. 66) is an extraordinary work, reflecting on the tragedy of two major European wars and sounding a warning for the future. In counterposing Wilfred Owen’s war poems with the more stylised Latin liturgy of the Mass for the Dead, Britten created a haunting musical statement on the futility of war.

The performance of Britten’s War Requiem in Llewellyn Hall on Saturday night was billed as a “World Peace Concert”. Prior to the performance a number of dignitaries spoke briefly, introduced by Sir William Keys. The Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, began the speeches by saying peace was one of the most important issues concerning humankind. He was followed by the American, Soviet and Chinese ambassadors, the British High Commissioner and representatives from the UN and European Communities, while the audience waited patiently to hear the music.

When it began, the opening bells of the Kyrie and the brooding phrases of the Des Irae spoke sincerely and potently for the cause of peace. Sir Ninian Stephen, the Governor-General, spoke after the performance and read an apt passage from the poetry of Siegfried Sassoon, who was a contemporary of Owen’s.

The requiem operates on three levels. The liturgy is sung by massed choir with solo soprano, observing the ritual of mourning. The poems of Wilfred Owen, written in the trenches of World War I, are sung by two soldiers on the sides of opposing forces, accompanied by a small chamber orchestra. These solos convey the gruelling realities of the battlefield and contrast with the transcendent voices of the boy’s choir. The War Requiem’s tolling bells and recurring motifs are a reminder of what has to be done. The sad beauty of its final passages achieve a sense of peace in death, yet seeking peace in life.

Owen’s words provide us with a palpable sense of the private, human tragedy of war.

Move him unto the sun, Gently his touch awoke him once … if anything might rouse him now, the kind old sun will know.

David Parker sang the tenor role with Geoffrey Manning as the baritone. Marilyn Richardson sang solo soprano with the strong lyrical purity that is essential to Britten’s music. The large ensemble required for this piece was conducted by Marie Van Hove, who sustained the pace and turbulence of the music while effectively drawing out the more pensive moments with her baton.

The Canberra School of Music achieved an organisational feat in presenting this world peace concert. The requiem was well attended by the public, and it is to be hoped that the support and concern shown for issues of world peace are affirmed in action as they were in words and music.

Marilyn Richardson - soprano

David Parker - tenor

Geoffrey Manning - baritone

Canberra School of Music Opera Workshop Chorus (augmented)
Symphony Orchestra (lead by Leonard Dommett O.B.E.)
Chamber Orchestra (lead by Donald Halewood O.B.E.)

Canberra Boys Choir (conductor, Michael Deasey)

St. Andrew's Cathedral (Sydney) Boys Choir

Entire production conducted by Marie van Hove

First published in The Canberra Times, July 18 1988

Article: HEAR THE PEACE MESSAGE: PM - International Year of Peace Concert - Benjamin Britten's War Requiem - Llewellyn Hall, July 16 1988

THE message of peace was one people could not hear too often or ever afford to ignore, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, told a near capacity audience at the Llewellyn Hall of the Canberra School of Music last night.

The Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Mr Zhang Zai, reads a peace message from the President of the Republic of China
to the audience at a peace concert at the Canberra School of Music last night. On the left are the USSR Ambassador, Dr
Eugene Samoteikin, and the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke. Picture: DARRYL GREGORY

The occasion was the performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, a personal statement by Britten of his abhorrence of war using the poems of Wilfred Owen, a soldier and protest poet of World War I, who was killed a week before the Armistice.

Mr Hawke said the theme of peace went to the most important issue facing humankind. His theme was repeated by a number of dignitaries who read messages of peace from world leaders before the performance.

The president of the RSL, Sir William Keys, said War Requiem was probably the most significant musical work of the 20th century. It was a reflection about war, the devastation and futility of war that made an appeal for peace.

The Ambassador of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Dr Eugene Samoteikin, read a message from the Head of State of the Soviet Government which said the greatest evil for all on the planet was the threat of war.

Other messages were read from the President of the United States, Mr Reagan, the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Li Peng, the British Prime Minister, Mrs Thatcher, the President of the Commission of European Communities, President Delors, and from the Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr Perez de Cuellar.

War Requiem was a production of the Canberra School of Music and the school’s opera workshop with St Andrew’s Cathedral Boys’ Choir Sydney and the Chorale from the Canberra Boys' Choir.

Originally published in The Canberra Times, July 17, 1988

Article: SOPRANO PERFORMS TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON NEED FOR PEACE

Saturday July 16, 1988

by MARK UHLMANN

Brisbane soloist Marilyn Richardson who is participating
in tonight's World Peace Concert in Llewellyn Hall at the
Canberra School of Music. Photo: MARTIN JONES

One of Australia’s finest sopranos, Marilyn Richardson, believes that tonight’s World Peace Concert, in which she will perform, will be like a “church service on a Sunday”.

It will not directly assist the cause of world peace, but will help to focus attention on the issue and “the  more aware you are the better”.

Ms Richardson has sung in Britten’s War Requiem, the centrepiece of the concert, “many times”, but the last occasion was several years ago. She said the work, “commonly acknowledged as a modern classic…could be performed every Anzac Day, as the Messiah is performed each year…if anyone had the imagination”.

Based in Brisbane, Ms Richardson has recently completed a season of Aida for the Lyric Opera in Queensland. She is performing in War Requiem at the invitation of her old friend Mr David Parker, organiser of the concert and head of the vocal department at the Canberra School of Music.

Ms Richardson arrived in Canberra on Thursday for her first rehearsal and was very impressed with the quality of the choir. She also praised the Canberra School of Music as an institution: a “marvellous facility…increasing in reputation around the country”.

As the soprano in War Requiem, Ms Richardson will sing the solo piece from the Latin Catholic Mass for the Dead. The poems of Wilfred Owen form a second text in the work and will be sung by the other two soloists.

Ms Richardson sees Owen’s work as “a comment on the brevity of life and the absolute uselessness of war”.

Tonight’s concert will be held in Llewellyn Hall at the Canberra School of Music and starts at 8.15pm.

Originally published in The Canberra Times, July 16, 1988