|
''Britten's War Requiem (1963)'' is the first recording of Britten's War Requiem. It featured Galina Vishnevskaya, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Peter Pears with the London Symphony Orchestra and The Bach Choir and was conducted by Britten himself. The recording took place in the Kingsway Hall in London and was produced by John Culshaw for Decca. Within five months of its release in May 1963 it sold 200,000 copies, an unheard-of number for a piece of contemporary classical music at that time.〔Carpenter, Humphrey. ''Benjamin Britten: A Biography.'' London: Faber and Faber, 1992: p411.〕 Britten wrote the music with the performers in this recording in mind. He did not originally intend to have a female soloist but hearing Vishnevskaya sing at Aldeburgh inspired him to include one Fischer-Diskau and Pears sang at the first performance however Vishnevskaya was unable to due to visa restrictions imposed by the USSR because the piece was seen as "too political". She was however permitted to appear in the recording sessions meaning Britten's intended line-up of a singer from each of Russia, Germany and the UK was achieved. Recording producer John Culshaw reports that Vishnevskaya threw a tantrum during the recording, as she believed – not having performed the work before – she was being insulted by being placed with the choir instead of at the front with the male soloists.〔〔Culshaw ''Putting the Record Straight'' (1981): pp. 312-13〕 ==Recording set up== Culshaw praised Britten for his understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the technical side of stereo recording. They discussed the recording set up in depth and placed each of the three distinct forces – Britten wrote the piece in three distinct planes or levels – in appropriate locations. The two male soloists, representing two soldiers, and the chamber orchestra which accompanies them were placed to the right of the space in a dry acoustic to capture verbal clarity and to more accurately portray Britten's directions in the score which frequently called for a "cold" tone. The large forces of the Mass itself – soprano soloist, chorus and orchestra – were placed in the centre of the hall with the chorus in the gallery which gave the desired level of reverberation – implying the large space of a cathedral without losing too much definition. The boys chorus and small organ were placed to the left of the space to create the sense of distance Britten wanted. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Britten's War Requiem (1963 recording)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|