War Requiem
Experience the power and drama of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem in beautiful performances by Magnum Chorum, the St. Olaf Orchestra and St. Olaf Chapel Choir, and Anima from Northfield Youth Choirs. Led by conductors Christopher Aspaas and Steven Amundson, more than 300 musicians join forces to honor Britten’s centenary in two spectacular performances at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (Mahtomedi) on Friday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m. and Boe Memorial Chapel at St. Olaf College (Northfield) on Sunday April 21, at 3:30 p.m. Soloists are members of the St. Olaf voice faculty: Tracey Engleman, soprano, Robert C. Smith, baritone, and Dan Dressen, tenor.
The War Requiem was completed in 1962 to celebrate the opening of England’s Coventry Cathedral, which incorporated the ruins of Cathedral of St. Michael which was bombed during the Second World War. Britten’s dramatic and often surreal work featuring three soloists, orchestra, boy choir and adult chorus fuses text from the Requiem Mass with nine poems by Wilfred Owen, illuminating the ravages of war and offering a moving plea for deliverance.