Have you watched 'War Requiem' : it was screened here in the U.K last night?

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I've been familiar with Britten's War Requiem (imho a truly great work) since its recorded premiere.

I've also been familiar with some of Jarman's work for some time, always known for his excessive over-the-top approach, and sometimes brilliant within that context.

My personal take can best be summed by The Buggles perfect pop song title, "Video killed the radio star."

I actually pretty much hate visuals 'slapped on' to a work of music never intended to have them. The bit of cutting in this commercial promo does not help, either.

First, I was completely turned off by SPEECH (whether it was Owen's poetry or not) with the music under it in the introductory part of the promo video.

Then, the cut / montage of actual war footage had no relationship whatsoever to the rhythm or the pace of the music to which it was 'fit.' (I'd argue it was not well-fitted to the score.)

Then we have a woman screaming as any human would do at the realization of the horror of the sudden loss of life due to war. Cheaply melodramatic, over-the-top, screamingly obvious (it is a War Requiem, after all). The most hideous import that brings to the table is its simplistic condescension toward its audience.

Ergo, I find (from what I've seen) the whole thing utterly intrusive and a force majeur in detracting the listener away from the music and the import of Owen's texts as set in Britten's masterpiece.

Adding visuals to this piece is (to me) a stunning and stupidly literal and literally stupid dumbing down of a very great work. That wholly deprives the listener of the opportunity to allow the music and texts to evoke images in the listener's own imagination, and it instead imposes the most obvious of cliches - I cannot think of anything more egregiously condescending.

Many thumbs down.


But of course, Best regards.

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