WAR REQUIEM AT SNAPE MALTINGS
On Saturday 10 November we had the immense privilege of taking part in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem at Snape Maltings. This deeply moving work was written to celebrate the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral in 1962 after it was destroyed by German bombers in World War II. Britten was a pacifist and his music combines a setting of the Latin requiem mass with the searing poetry of Wilfred Owen – it is an overwhelmingly powerful work which commemorates those lost in the pity of all wars and asks big questions about humanities desire to fight. A group of dedicated performers from Cantabile took on the challenge of singing the off-stage children’s’ choir parts and were not only exceptional in their performance but also in their concentration and commitment. To be part of this piece, at Snape, the day before the centenary of the end of World War One was a truly special event (Mr Milton cried many times from his chamber organ!) and the haunting silence at the end of the performance before the inevitable applause was something to remember forever.
