Prom 47: Britten - War Requiem

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London

Presented by Suzy Klein

A Proms performance of Britten's great musical protest at 'the pity of War'.

Britten: War Requiem

Susan Gritton (soprano)
Toby Spence (tenor)
Hanno Müller-Brachmann (baritone)
BBC Proms Youth Choir
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons (conductor)

Marking the centenary of the outbreak of World War 1, a Proms performance of the greatest musical piece of anti-war polemic ever composed. Britten's magisterial oratorio was first heard in 1962, performed in a Coventry Cathedral newly-opened after its medieval predecessor had been destroyed by the bombs of WW2. Subtly interleaving the Latin text of the Requiem Mass with the war poems of Wilfred Owen, the 'War Requiem' stands as both one of Britten's most passionate and heartfelt works and a devastating portrayal of what Owen called 'the pity of War'.

Prom 47 repeat Tuesday 2nd September 1400-1630.