Event 2 – Workshop – Sing & Discover Britten’s War Requiem
Saturday 25 April 2026
SING & DISCOVER – BRITTEN’S WAR REQUIEM
11.00am – 5.00pm St Michael’s Church, High Street, Lewes
Tickets: £30 (U18s free)
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FESTIVAL PASS (events 1/2/3/4/7/10/11/13 – save £20)
Directed by John Hancorn and Richard Wigmore
A workshop for singers of all standards to explore Britten’s War Requiem.
Few musical works have created such an international stir as Britten’s War Requiem, premiered in 1962 to mark the rising of Basil Spence’s new Coventry Cathedral alongside the ashes of the old. Interleaving the Latin Mass with war poems by Wilfred Owen, the Requiem is both a symbol of reconciliation and the supreme expression of Britten’s deeply held pacifist beliefs. It is also thrilling music. With a nod to Verdi’s Requiem – its distant inspiration – it speaks forcefully to performers and listeners first time round while revealing new complexities on repeated encounters.
In this Sing and Discover Day conductor John Hancorn and writer and broadcaster Richard Wigmore explore both the music and the political and biographical background of the War Requiem. Richard will play and discuss recorded extracts, and John will rehearse the singers, joined by a soprano soloist, in each of the choruses. The upshot will be an in-depth, thought-provoking exploration of an iconic masterpiece of twentieth-century choral music.
Sing & Discover workshops are for choral singers, choirs and music lovers who wish to broaden their range, extend their experience, increase their knowledge of style and context, and who enjoy a challenge.
Loan of scores and tea/biscuits included in the ticket price.
BOOK TICKETS
FESTIVAL PASS (events 1/2/3/4/7/10/11/13 save £20)