Britten: War Requiem

“The pity of war, the pity war distilled” Wilfred Owen

The performance of this intense masterpiece marks the centenary of the end of World War One. Britten combined poems by First World War poet, Wilfred Owen, with the traditional words of the Requiem Mass in what has become one of the 20th century’s defining works. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, the Great War saw more than 70 million military personnel in action - and over nine million service personnel and seven million civilians died.

Britten, a life-long pacifist, was commissioned to write the War Requiem to mark the opening in 1962 of a new cathedral for the city of Coventry, built to replace the one destroyed by bombs. The result is an impassioned eulogy for the fallen; a fervent entreaty for peace; and a compelling depiction of ‘war and the pity of war’.

Join Guildford Choral, The Bach Choir, Guildford Cathedral Choristers, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 3 world-class soloists and Conductor Jonathan Willcocks to honour the fallen and to mark this most significant Remembrance Day – the ending of the ‘War to end all Wars’.

There will be a retiring collection in aid of The HALO Trust. Set up some 30 years ago in Kabul when Soviet Forces started their withdrawal from Afghanistan, HALO has become the world’s largest humanitarian mine clearance organisation.