Robert Shaw - Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66 (1989)

The greatest setting of the Requiem text in the twentieth century? Probably. The greatest sacred work of the twentieth century? Arguably. The greatest work Britten ever wrote? Absolutely. And the best recording of the War Requiem ever made is still Britten's own, the premiere recording of the premiere performance with the soloists for whom it was written singing it.

But the second best recording ever made and certainly the best American recording is this 1988 recording by Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus with the Atlanta Boys' Choir, soprano Lorna Haywood, tenor Anthony Rolfe Johnson, and baritone Benjamin Luxon. Atlanta Orchestra is superb, the solos were the best available at the time, and the Atlanta Chorus and Boys' Choir were the best America had ever produced. While one could argue that Britten's performance goes further and deeper and higher than Shaw's, one could also argue that Shaw's performance is more polished, more precise, and just as passionate. Decca's stereo sound was as good as it got in the early '60s, just as Telarc's digital sound was as good as it got in the later '80s. If you can only ever hear one recording of the War Requiem, it should be the Britten. But since it is probably the greatest Requiem of the twentieth century, why stop with just one?

Review by James Leonard