Benjamin Britten’s epic War Requiem (1962) inhabits a
singular place among the musical memorials dedicated to the fallen
of World War II.
In War Requiem, Britten stakes out a middle ground between
flag waving, strike-up-the-band pieces such as Marc Blitzstein’s
forgotten Airborne Symphony (1946) and chilling though utterly
abstract works such as Luigi Nono’s “Remember what they did to you at
Auschwitz” (1966) or the famed Threnody for the Victims of
Hiroshima (1960) by Krzysztof Penderecki, whose original title was
the coolly numeric 8’37”.
Britten daringly blends desolate abstraction with plain-spoken
emotion by embedding Wilfred Owen’s antiwar poems within the
Latin Mass for the dead.
In the first movement, the chorus gently chants “Requiem aeternam
dona eis, Domine.” Though most of us don’t speak or understand Latin,
we pick out a word or two and fall sway to implacable elemental
grandeur of massed voices. Owen, killed in World War I just one week
before the Armistice, provides the next line; a solo tenor sings “What
passing bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of
the guns.”
Scored for orchestra, boys’ choir, mixed chorus, organ, and chamber
orchestra as well as tenor, baritone, and soprano soloists, War
Requiem is a feast for the ears. Britten creates startling
textures throughout, especially in the “Sanctus.” I love the opening
soprano duet with tintinnabulating bells. I also marvel at the
chaotically murmuring chorus, which, after a miraculous pause, yields
to martial cannonades of horns and trombones. Soon, a baritone closes
the “Sanctus” decrying the fate of all war-tainted soldiers: “Mine
ancient scars shall not be glorified, Nor my titanic tears, the sea, be
dried.” 
Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers perform the War Requiem on Sun Feb 10 at Meany Hall, UW Campus, 685-8384, 3 pm,
$10–$25.
Thurs 2/7
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
A rare event: The symphony plays music by one of the lodestars of
the 20th-century avant garde, Edgard Varèse (1883—1965).
Conductor Michael Stern and the band essay Intégrales,
a brief, surreal swirl of monstrously groaning brass and fractured
military marches. Cellist Lynn Harrell is the soloist in the Cello
Concerto No. 2 by the all-but-forgotten Victor Herbert
(1859—1924). Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3 plumps up the
bulk of the program. Also Fri Feb 8 at 8 pm and Sat Feb 9 at 8 pm. The
Sun Feb 10 performance at 2 pm omits Intégrales.
Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm,
$17—$125.
JESSICA WILLIAMS
This jazz piano virtuoso debuts a new suite of compositions. In a
segment described as “part talk show,” Williams riffs on her musical
forebears, influences, and music technology, and chats with show opener
Aiko Shimada. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 7:30 pm,
$20.
Fri 2/8
TEMPERED STEEL
Avant guitarist Dennis Rea, Ffej, and instrument builder Frank Junk
(remember Utterance Tongue?) update and electrify the thumb piano, an
ancient African instrument of flattened nails, wood, and hollowed-out,
dried gourd. Tempered Steel dubs out, distorts, and layers gentle tones
into blipping polyrhythmic soundscapes. Floating Leaves Tea House,
2213 NW Market St., 529-4268, 7:30 pm, donation requested.
SEATTLE COMPOSERS SEMINAR
Not the Seattle Composers Salon, but a showcase organized by
composer Gloria Wilson Swisher. The evening’s eight premieres include
works variously scored for recorder and viol de gamba, choir, flute and
piano, string trio, and other atypical combinations by Swisher, Greg
Bartholomew, Fabio Ciofini, Dale Dykins, John David Gordon, Nancy Kern,
Georgia Lockwood, Bernard Super, and the 15-year-old Lauren Geertsen.
Christ Episcopal Church, 1305 NE 47th St, 633-1611, 7:30 pm,
free.
SEATTLE IMPROVISED MUSIC FESTIVAL
The first weekend of North America’s longest-running festival
devoted to freely improvised music boasts a slew of excellent players:
Japanese avant guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama and a solo set from Gregory
Reynolds (Fri 2/8); the seldom-seen but superb bassist Mark Collins and
Zürich-based electronicist Jason Kahn (Sat 2/9); and ad hoc duos
and trios with the aforementioned musicians and more (Sun 2/10 at
Gallery 1412). Fourth floor Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd
Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8 pm, $10—$25 sliding scale
donation.
Sat 2/9
THE ESOTERICS
In honor of assassinated Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, this
a cappella ensemble sings Arvo Pärt’s haunting Canon of
Repentance. Also Sun Feb 10 at Holy Rosary Church in West Seattle
at 3 pm. St Joseph’s Church, 732 18th Ave E, 935-7779, 8 pm,
$15—$20.
Tues 2/12
UW CONTEMPORARY GROUP
The Contemporary Group consistently offers an improbable mix of
avant classical hits and rarities. Here, UW students and top-notch
grads perform the Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp by Claude
Debussy; William Albright’s “Take That” for 16 drums; and excerpts from
Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus. Fans of
French Spectralist composer Gérard Grisey won’t want to miss
Vortex Temporum I and II. Meany Theater, UW
Campus, 685-8384, 7:30 pm, $10.
