They State Their Cases With Passion

This is a remastering of a live 1969 performance, with attendant problems such as audience noise and, unfortunately, an occasional drifting focus due to the problematic acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall. Still, Benjamin Britten’s audacious combining of the war poetry of Wilfred Owen with the Latin Mass for the Dead remains powerful, shocking, even shattering. Pears employs his reedy tenor in insightful word painting. Dutch baritone Wilbrink sings strongly, occasionally tingeing the English text with a slight accent. Woytowicz’s stentorian soprano rings with Slavic power. The choirs are resonant and full, except for those moments of drift. Giulini’s conducting is sensitive and devoted. Britten himself leads the Melos Ensemble as it accompanies the tenor and baritone soloists.

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