Britten War Requiem: a monument in our time This season marks the one hundredth anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s birth. Consequently, this has been a real Britten year for the Indianapolis Children’s Choir. In the fall, we performed the “Missa Brevis in D” and at holiday time, “Ceremony of Carols.” And now, this spring the “War… Read More
Perhaps this has been the most wide-ranging week of my career in music! As the headline indicates, one never knows what to expect in the life of a choral conductor. Let’s start with the biggie…the one I’m still struggling to believe (that is to say, every time my phone rings, I’m sure it’s someone from… Read More
Reflections on a Friendship Although this posting is not directly about War Requiem, it is about one of the significant participants in that first performance, Peter Pears, for whom Britten wrote such lovely and loving music throughout his career, and who became a kind and generous friend over the last 12 years of his life…. Read More