Britten’s War Requiem: Edward Gardner takes an uncompromising & severe view softened by the poetic attention to the words from soloists in London Philharmonic Orchestra’s season opener

Britten: War Requiem – Edward Gardner, Benjamin Appl, Paul Appleby London Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo: Andy Paradise)

Britten: War Requiem; Natalya Romaniw, Paul Appleby, Benjamin Appl, London Philharmonic Choir, Tiffin Boys Choir & Girls Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner; Royal Festival Hall
26 September 2027

Edward Gardner emphasises the austerity of Britten’s sound world in a performance that contrasted austerity with poetry and only brought warmth and reconciliation in the final moments

London does not have a venue completely suitable for the full forces of Britten’s War Requiem (and part of me wonders what the sound was like at that first performance at Coventry Cathedral). But the revitalised Royal Festival Hall now has the requisite space and an acceptable acoustic. So, the massed forces of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), London Philharmonic Choir and London Symphony Chorus filled the Royal Festival Hall stage on Saturday 26 September 2026 for the opening of the LPO’s 2026/27 season. Edward Gardner conducted them in Britten’s War Requiem with soloists soprano Natalya Romaniw, tenor Paul Appleby and baritone Benjamin Appl, plus the Tiffin Boys Choir and Girls Choir (conductor James Day). 

Paul Appleby was standing in for Allan Clayton at short notice; Appleby recently appeared in John Adams’ Antony & Cleopatra at the Met in New York, and he has appeared at Glyndebourne as Jonathan (in Handel’s Saul, 2015, see my review), Benedict (in Berlioz’s Beatrice et Benedict, 2016) and Tamino (in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, 2024).

There was a stark quality to the work’s opening with very pointed delivery from the chorus contrasting with the strength of the low instruments in the orchestra, until ‘Et lux perpetua’ was really hammered out. The children’s choir’s entry following the climax highlighted one of the limitations of the hall; placed in the balcony their sound was assured but very present. In ‘What passing bells’, Paul Appleby revealed a vibrant lyric voice, his intent and intense performance placing strong emphasis on the words. In the unaccompanied ‘Kyrie’ that followed the chorus was magically quiet, but the sound was very present.

Britten: War Requiem – Natalya Romaniw, London Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo: Andy Paradise)

The chorus’s delivery opening the ‘Dies Irae’ was again very marked, and there was a real hard edge to the orchestra. In ‘Bugles sang’, Benjamin Appl brought stark severity to his lyric line, then Natalya Romaniw made you shiver with her vibrant tone and firm, uncompromising line in ‘Liber scriptus’. Appleby and Appl brought out the Kurt Weill echoes in ‘Out there, we walked quite friendly up to death’ with their vivid rhythms and marked emphasis. The women of the chorus gave a sense of warm line to ‘Recordare’ contrasting with the way the men spat out ‘Confutatis’. Appl was stark and strong in ‘Be slowly lifted up’ again emphasising the words. A fierce choral outburst for ‘Dies irae’ led to Romaniw’ keening ‘Lacrimosa’ with a striking use of portamento. This contrasted with Appleby’s bleak account of ‘Move him, move him’ making it all the more profound. The final choral ‘Pie jesu’ was austere.

Gardner’s approach to the work seemed to emphasise the uncompromising qualities of Britten’s setting, with much of the performance being strong and stark. He did not dwell, keeping speeds fleet and bringing impetus and energy.

The children were very upfront in ‘Domine Jesu Christe’ with plenty of attack, then the chorus complemented that with their own terrific vigour along with rhythmic attack in the orchestra for ‘Sed signifer sanctus’ and ‘Quam olim Abrahae’. For ‘Isaac and Abram’, Appleby and Appl combined vigour with a real sense of developing bitterness and anger at the end, giving a profound contrast with the children’s reprise of ‘Hostias et preces tibi’.

Britten: War Requiem – Tiffin Boys Choir & Girls Choir, Alex Hamilton (organ), James Day (conductor) –  (Photo: Andy Paradise)

The Sanctus began with Romaniw, her delivery vibrant, stark and then the vivid muttering of the chorus leading to a stirring climax. Gardner kept the pace moving for the Benedictus, with Romaniw really hypnotic here, yet still with vibrant tone. Appl’s account of ‘After the blast of lightning’ was uncompromising and very concentrated, again focusing on the words.

In the Agnus Dei, Appleby’s account of ‘One ever hangs’ was intense, with the high tension in his upper register adding to the striking strength of his delivery. There was an eerie start to ‘Libera me’, the starkness of just chours, bass line and drums building to a terrific climax, the chorus intent and intense. Romaniw was urgent and anxious in ‘Tremens factus’, then the chorus brought a profound edge to ‘Dies illa’, leading to a climax of sheer noise and focus, yet with all the details present. Gardner’s view of the work might emphasise its concompromising quality, but he drew all the threads in a way the ensured everything was heard. Appleby began ‘Strange meeting’ with very present tone, intent with a sense of high tension in the voice, and words to the fore. Appl continued with mesmerising bleakness, giving just the right weight to the crucial words ‘I am the enemy you killed, my friend’.

Britten: War Requiem – Edward Gardner, London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo: Andy Paradise)

Britten’s War Requiem is never a comfortable work, but here Gardner seemed to bring out a particular uncompromising and severe view, emphasising the austerity of Britten’s sound world. All this played into the dryness of the hall’s acoustic, there was no comfortable acoustic aura to warm the sound. Yet the two male soloists utilised this to bring out the poetic quality of Britten’s word setting, with the final section of the work finally allowing a degree of peace, warmth and reconciliation.