A little less British, but great Britten!
William Dodd | Castle Rock, WA USA | 05/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rilling and his forces do this work very well. Whether you'd prefer the original or Hickox is matter of individual tastes, I suspect. The Hickox does also offer the Sinfonia Da Requiem, which I enjoy very much. But I really like this one. Britten than being conducted by a Bach expert puts a new light on it. But... the recording itself is fantastic, utilizing multi-channel in a very positive way to involve the listener completely."
Rilling's Britten
D. K. Croft | Everett, WA | 02/05/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As might be expected, Rilling's War Requiem displays a strong performance from the choral forces, including the boys choir, and the sonics are stunning. Annette Dasch sings the soprano solos with much better intonation than one often hears, but it must be said that she lacks the "bite" necessary for a truly fine performance. Christian Gerhaher often presents a tone very similar to Fischer-Dieskow, but sometimes lacks control. Although I've never been a fan of Peter Pears, I very much prefer his performance on the original Britten recording; James Taylor enunciates clearly, but I find little beauty in his singing.
Despite the soloists' shortcomings, however, Rillings' version of this masterpiece is definitely worth hearing. While the original Britten recording still sets the standard, the Rilling performance is very solid, and the transparency of the sonic field is noteworthy."