The Manhattan School of Music Symphony and Symphonic Chorus and the Oratorio Society of New York will join for two performances of Britten’s War Requiem, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan on April 6 and 7. The work, written as a pacifist response to World War II, intersperses the traditional Requiem Mass text with poetry of Wilfred Owen, who died in World War I. A press release for the concerts states, “At a time when global instability and domestic turmoil have reached new heights and communities worldwide are grappling with the human toll of armed conflict, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in collaboration with the Oratorio Society of New York and the Manhattan School of Music Symphony and Symphonic Chorus, will present Benjamin Britten’s powerful invocation of the perils of battle.” Kent Tritle, director of cathedral music at St. John the Divine, will conduct the performances, featuring more than 350 choral singers, full symphony orchestra, and organ. Soprano Susanna Phillips, tenor John Matthew Myers, and baritone Matthew Worth will be the vocal soloists.
Posted April 4, 2017
