Britten,  War Requiem: Orchestra of Opera North, Northern Sinfonia, Huddersfield Choral Society, Trinity Boys Choir, Janice Watson -Soprano, Paul Nilon -Tenor, Grant Doyle -Baritone, Takuo Yuasa Conductor. The Sage, Newcastle/Gateshead,  UK, 31.03.2007 (JL)

 

The Sage, with its fine concert hall and acoustic, has not the spaciousness of a cathedral and therefore would not seem to be the most suitable venue for Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, a piece that demands three groups of musicians, each with their own sound world and space. Designed for the new Coventry Cathedral at its inauguration in 1962 (replacing the medieval building the Luftwaffe demolished in 1940) the premiere employed two conductors to co-ordinate proceedings, one being the composer.

At the Sage, the three component parts were arranged with the boys choir at the top rear tier, the chamber group and two male soloists on the platform to the right of the conductor, and the large orchestra and chorus taking up the rest of the platform with the soprano  behind and above on the upper tier.

 

The Sage Concert Hall

There was a practical advantage in this relatively intimate set up in that one conductor could keep a firm grip on all before and behind him. In addition, it was possible to hear some of the subtleties of Britten’s textures that might have been lost in a more cavernous setting. Lesser orchestral playing would have been readily exposed but consistently distinguished playing was provided by the happy combination of the Leeds based Orchestra of Opera North and the Sage's own resident chamber band, the Northern Sinfonia.

The choral force of more than 150 strong was that symbol of the great English Choral tradition which so impressed the likes of Haydn and Berlioz. When the latter visited England  in 1847, the Huddersfield Choral Society was already in existence.  160 years later at The Sage it achieved some beautifully hushed singing in the most moving parts of the Requiem and conductor Takuo Yuasa ensured a perfect balance with the large orchestra. There was one unfortunate breach of balance when in the opening Requiem Aeternam an overly loud tubular bell shattered the mysterious peace.

The large choir was offset by the boys of Trinity Choir, Croydon, imported from the South in this otherwise Northern affair. They were confidently ethereal.

Britten mostly matched the two male soloists with the chamber orchestra. They render the words of the Wilfred Owen war poems that are interspersed with some of the C13th Latin text of the Requiem. They represent the here and now of the awfulness of war - the soldiers who alone know what it's really like. Tenor Paul Nilon and baritone Grant Doyle possess ideal voices for the roles, the two of them capable of lyricism and some power but above all they blended together superbly in terms of tone, ensemble  and technical excellence.

As for soprano Janice Watson, who spatially and musically floated above the orchestra and chorus; I found her strident vibrato not to my taste although to be fair it could be said the delivery was in keeping with the horror of the ancient Christian text that refers to accountability on death to God and the threat of unspeakable consequences for those miserable beings found wanting. The trouble was, when it came to less gruesome passages, such as in the Sanctus, she toned it down very little. There must be something about the role.  Reputedly, at rehearsals for the first London performance of this work, Britten was on several occasions politely suggesting to Galina Vishnevskaya (who had already thrown a tantrum over where she was being made to stand) that she tone it down a bit too. Perhaps Janice Watson was practising riding over a huge orchestra for her next operatic role:  Salome.

There was only one other disappointment for me which was that the wonderfully drilled Huddersfield singers did not unleash the degree of terrifying power that I hoped for in the Dies Irae. One should feel in threat of being blown out of the hall and I am sure they had the potential to do it. 

These minor gripes aside this was a moving and superbly executed performance, commandingly led and unerringly paced by Takuo Yuasa.

After the performance I bumped into a couple I know and it turned out that one of them had attended the premiere in Coventry Cathedral and the other the London premier that led to the recording.  Both were relating how much speculation there was at the time, forty five years ago, about how much of a masterpiece the War Requiem was and whether it would stand the test of time. Certainly it was a staggering success for Britten, something that intensely irritated that other great contemporary composer, Igor Stravinsky. The first record sales were unprecedented for a new classical work and any live performance was bound to pack out. The fact that at the Sage there were a significant number of empty seats surprised me. Whether it represented a valid judgement of the work's current status I have no idea.

John Leeman