I am the enemy you killed, my friend

I feel fortunate to have played in the chamber orchestra within the large orchestra for the Southeastern US premiere of Britten's War Requiem in the mid-nineteen sixties. I was in college, and came home to Atlanta early enough to participate in the performance at Emory University conducted by William Lemonds. It made a powerful limpression on me. The Wilfred Owen (photo above) poetry haunted me for months ("I am the enemy you killed, my friend."), as well as the vocal settings. Jean Lemonds was the splendid soprano, and Fletcher Wolfe, conductor of the Atlanta Boy Choir, sang the baritone solos impressively. The Atlanta Symphony brass played the big movements powerfully, and the chapel resounded - yet another fine acoustic space. Link: On An Overgrown Path: Britten – music does not exist in a vacuum.

Reblogged from Poor Richard's Anorak - well worth a visit.

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