"I am the enemy you killed, my friend": Sacrifice, Pacifism and Reconciliation in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts In Musicology University of Regina by Erin Marie MacLean Regina, Saskatchewan May, 2011 Copyright 2011: E. 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Canada UNIVERSITY OF REGINA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH SUPERVISORY AND EXAMINING COMMITTEE Erin Marie MacLean, candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in Musicology, has presented a thesis titled, "I am the enemy you killed, my friend": Sacrifice, Pacifism and Reconciliation in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, in an oral examination held on March 17, 2011. The following committee members have found the thesis acceptable in form and content, and that the candidate demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject material. External Examiner: "Dr. Jonathan Goldman, University of Victoria Supervisor: Dr. Pauline Minevich, Department of Music Committee Member: Dr. Barbara Reul, Luther College Committee Member: Dr. Jean-Marie Kent, Department of Music Chair of Defense: Prof. Wes Pearce, Theatre Department *Not present at defense ABSTRACT Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed the War Requiem in 1961 for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral, which had been nearly destroyed by German bombing in 1940. The composer's pacifist message is manifested through the metaphors of martyrdom and forgiveness. The image of the soldier, represented by two male soloists, conveys the futility of violence and draws comparisons with martyrdom and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The dichotomy of religion and modern warfare is illustrated by the juxtaposition of the traditional Latin liturgical text and Wilfred Owen's graphic war poetry in English. This provides a provocative connection between ancient religion and twentieth-century modernist literature. This thesis first examines architect Basil Spence and the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral, the WWI poetry of Wilfred Owen and the life and pacifist beliefs of Benjamin Britten. The first chapters provide an introduction to the musical and textual analyses of the War Requiem score in the later chapters, in which we explore the themes of sacrifice, pacifism and reconciliation. The analyses reveal the themes of sacrifice, manifested in the biblical and poetic parallels; pacifism, demonstrated through Britten and Owen's mutual condemnation of violence; and reconciliation, in which all of the forces, sacred and secular, are united in a plea for peace. By examining the various ironies and paradoxes raised by these themes, we discover a further understanding of the War Requiem as a twentieth-century pacifist masterpiece. i ACKNOWLEDGEM ENT I owe my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Pauline Minevich, whose passion for the War Requiem equaled my own. Despite countless setbacks, her knowledge, encouragement and enthusiasm were an integral part of the paper's completion. I am heartily thankful to Dr. Barbara Reul for assisting me with the content and formatting of this thesis. I have learned a great deal from her suggestions and her contribution to my thesis has been substantial. Thank you also to Dr. Jean-Marie Kent for the recent time and effort that she has put into this project. Her perspective added a new dimension to the work and 1 am sincerely grateful that she was willing to contribute to this process. I would like to thank William Sgrazzutti and Marlys Upton at the John Archer Library, University of Regina, for all of their assistance obtaining the library materials. I'd also like to thank Karen Wiome at the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for keeping me on track. Thank you to Dr Andrew Plant, curator of the Britten-Pears Library for responding to all of my questions. Finally, a big thank you to Greg, Patrice and Erica for helping me with Rhoen so that I could escape to the library. ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my mother for all of her support from my first piano recital to grad school. Also, to my husband Dmetri whose love and encouragement kept me going. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Acknowledgments ii Dedication iii PARTI Introduction 1 Literature Review 8 1 BASIL SPENCE AND THE DIOCESE OF COVENTRY 16 Basil Spence and the rebuilding of Coventry 17 Themes of sacrifice in the Cathedral 20 Reconciliation in the architecture of Coventry Cathedral 21 2 WILFRED OWEN, THE POETRY OF WORLD WAR ONE AND SHELL SHOCK 26 Political commentary, religious imagery and "Healing" in Owen's poetry 30 Benjamin Britten, Wilfred Owen and the War Requiem 44 3 THE LIFE AND SELECTED WORKS OF BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) 46 Britten's pacifism and musical activism 48 PART II 4 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WAR REQUIEM 57 The organization of the War Requiem and its "planes" 59 The tenor and baritone soloists 60 Boys' choir and soprano soloist 61 Four-part chorus and full orchestra 63 The diabolus in musica and the sounds of war in the War Requiem 64 5 SACRIFICE AND PACIFISM IN THE WAR REQUIEM 70 War and violence in the Requiem aeternam and "Anthem for Doomed Youth" 72 Violence in Britten's "man-made" Dies irae and "Bugles sang" 82 Conflicting portraits of faith: The Sanctus and Britten's Eastern influences 94 The image of the soldier as a Christ-figure 99 6 RECONCILIATION IN BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S WAR REQUIEM 106 iv "Libera me" and "Strange Meeting" 107 CONCLUSION COVENTRY'S RECONCILIATION, BRITTEN'S PROVOCATION 119 Appendix A: Text and Translation 124 Appendix B: Instrumentation 132 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 133 v LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES EXAMPLE PAGE 4.1 Fanfare Motif # 1: Opening three measures of the Dies irae Movement 65 4.2 Fanfare motif #2: Horn 1 in F; Measures 4 through 6 in the Dies irae movement 66 4.3 "Dance of Death:" The Chorus, one measure after RN 52 of the Dies irae 67 5.1 Requiem aeternam, RN 3, Boys' Choir Entrance, "Te decet hymnus" 74 5.2 Requiem aeternam, RN 9, The Oscillating Tritone in the Harp at RN 9 76 5.3 Requiem aeternam, RN 10-3, The "military" rhythm in the percussion and "artillery fire" in the flute and clarinet. The harp's descent for "these who die as cattle" 78 5.4 Requiem aeternam, RN 11+1, The tritone oscillating on "prayers" (tenor solo, 1 after RN 11 "No mockeries for them from prayers or bells") 80 5.5 Requiem aeternam, RN 15, The "rhythms of war" in the snare drum 81 5.6 Dies irae, RN 17-12, The fanfares of the Dies irae 84 5.7 Dies irae, RN 24+3, Quasi-bird sounds in the flute, harp and clarinet of the chamber orchestra 85 5.8 a) Offertorium, RN 64 "Quam olim Abrahae promisisti" subject 90 5.8 b) Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac, p. 7 mm. 1-4 "Father I am Ready" 90 5.9 The opening of the Sanctus movement 96 5.10 Sanctus, RN 89-7, The "Hosanna" and "Sanctus" Chorus 97 5.11 The Opening of the Agnus Dei movement 102 5.12 a) Agnus Dei, RN 97+3, The "falling fifth" on "Mundf' ("world") 102 5.12 b) Verdi's Agnus Dei, Opening 7 measures, "falling fifth" on "Mundi" ("world") 103 6.1 Libera me, RN 108, Soprano Solo "Tremens factus" at RN 108 109 6.2 Libera me, RN 126, "1 am the enemy you killed, my friend" at RN 126 112 6.3 Libera me, RN 133-4, The two choirs and soloists are united in the "In Paradisum" 116 vi Part One INTRODUCTION On 7 October 1958, British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was commissioned by the Coventry Cathedral Festival Arts Committee to write a work for the reconsecration and reconstruction of their Anglican Cathedral, which had been nearly destroyed by German bombing in 1940.