I believe in letting an invader in and then setting a good example. That is the reply Benjamin Britten gave to a tribunal for the registration of conscientious objectors in 1942 when asked "What would you do if Britain was invaded?" I was reminded of it when researching my recent article on Marco Pallis , who was an authority on both Tibetan Buddhism and early music, and, together with Britten, a champion of Purcell . In his best-selling book Peaks and Lamas , which was written in 1939, Pallis tells this story about the Sakyas , the ethnic group of which Gautama Buddha was a member which inhabited the foothills of the Himalayas. News was brought to them of an impending attack by a hostile tribe and it was debated anxiously whether resistance should be offered or not. Eventually they decided that, as followers of [Buddhist] Doctrine, they were debarred from offering armed resistance, but must welcome the invaders as friends, so they threw down their arms... The Tibetans, how...
Comments
'Jerry probably meant (charitably) that Britten was a Brit...'
To really work for me the War Requiem needs to be a performamce event in a suitable venue. After all it was written to be performed in a cathedral. I often find conventional concert hall performances a bit sterile.
Colin Davis' 2004 Proms performance was very fine - appropriate venue for the forces, a wonderful conductor, and an electric atmosphere. But I have also heard fine performances outside London in venues such as Ely Cathedral using semi-professional forces.