Editing War Requiem (section)

==Recordings==
{{main|Britten's War Requiem (1963 recording)}}
{{Infobox album|
| name       = War Requiem
| type       = Album
| artist     = [[Benjamin Britten]]
| cover      =
| alt        =
| released   = 1963
| recorded   = 1963
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = Classical
| length     = 1:31:24
| label      = [[Decca Records]]
| producer   = [[John Culshaw]]
| prev_title = Sonata for Cello and Piano
| prev_year  = 1961
| next_title = Psalm CL
| next_year  = 1962
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=c40645|title=''War Requiem''|author=Blair Johnston}}</ref>
| noprose = yes
}}
The first recording, featuring Vishnevskaya, Fischer-Dieskau and Pears, with the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] and [[The Bach Choir]] conducted by Britten, was produced by Decca in 1963. Within five months of its release it sold 200,000 copies, an unheard-of number for a piece of contemporary classical music at that time.<ref>[[Humphrey Carpenter|Carpenter, Humphrey]]. ''Benjamin Britten: A Biography''. London: Faber and Faber, 1992: p. 411.</ref> Recording producer [[John Culshaw]] reports that Vishnevskaya threw a tantrum during the recording, as she believed&nbsp;– not having performed the work before&nbsp;– she was being insulted by being placed with the choir instead of at the front with the male soloists.<ref>{{cite book|last=Culshaw|first=John|author-link=John Culshaw|title=Putting the Record Straight|location=London|publisher=Secker & Warburg|year=1981|isbn=0-436-11802-5|pages=312–313}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/galina-vishnevskaya-soprano-whose-voice-entranced-britten-and-who-fled-the-soviet-union-8422888.html|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|last=Humphreys|first=Garry|date=18 December 2012|title=Galina Vishnevskaya|access-date=18 September 2017|archive-date=14 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114205748/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/galina-vishnevskaya-soprano-whose-voice-entranced-britten-and-who-fled-the-soviet-union-8422888.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The newest (2013) CD reissue of this recording includes 50 minutes of surreptitiously taped rehearsal footage at the time of the recording.

Other recordings<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,296408,00.html | title=Keynotes | work=The Guardian | location=UK | author=Andrew Clements | date=23 April 1999 | access-date=18 December 2016 | archive-date=6 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306104357/http://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,296408,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> of the work include the following:
* Testament: [[Heather Harper]], [[Peter Pears]], [[Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau]]; [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]], Melos Ensemble; Coventry Festival Choir, Boys of Holy Trinity, Leamington and Holy Trinity, Stratford; [[Benjamin Britten]], [[Meredith Davies]], conductors (1962; recording of the premiere)
* VAI (DVD): [[Phyllis Curtin]], Nicholas Di Virgilio, [[Tom Krause]]; [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]]; Chorus Pro Musica, Columbus Boychoir; [[Erich Leinsdorf]], conductor (1963)
* Supraphon: [[Naděžda Kniplová]], [[Gerald English]], [[John Cameron (baritone)|John Cameron]], [[Czech Philharmonic]] Orchestra; Prague Philharmonic Choir, Kühn Children's Choir; [[Karel Ančerl]], conductor (1966)
* Cascavelle: [[Heather Harper]], [[Peter Pears]], [[Thomas Hemsley]]; [[Orchestre de la Suisse Romande]], Radio Suisse Romande Chorus, Choeur Pro Arte de Lausanne; [[Ernest Ansermet]], conductor (1967)
* BBC Legends: Stefania Woytowicz, [[Peter Pears]], Hans Wilbrink; New [[Philharmonia Orchestra]], [[Melos Ensemble]]; New Philharmonia Chorus, [[Wandsworth School Boys' Choir]]; [[Carlo Maria Giulini]], Benjamin Britten, conductors (1969)
* EMI Classics: [[Elisabeth Söderström]], [[Robert Tear]], [[Thomas Allen (baritone)|Thomas Allen]]; [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]]; [[City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus|CBSO Chorus]]; Boys of Christ Church Cathedral Oxford; Sir [[Simon Rattle]], conductor (1983)
* Telarc: Lorna Haywood, [[Anthony Rolfe Johnson]], [[Benjamin Luxon]]; [[Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus]]; [[Atlanta Boy Choir]]; [[Robert Shaw (conductor)|Robert Shaw]], conductor (1988)
* Berlin Classics: [[Kari Løvaas]], Anthony Roden, [[Theo Adam]]; [[Dresden Philharmonic]]; Leipzig Radio Chorus, Dresden Cathedral Boys Choir; [[Herbert Kegel]], conductor (1989)
* Chandos: [[Heather Harper]], [[Philip Langridge]], [[John Shirley-Quirk]]; [[London Symphony Orchestra]] and Chorus; Choristers of Saint Paul's Cathedral; [[Richard Hickox]], conductor (1991)
* Deutsche Grammophon: [[Ľuba Orgonášová]], [[Anthony Rolfe Johnson]], [[Boje Skovhus]]; [[Monteverdi Choir]]; [[Tölzer Knabenchor]]; [[NDR Sinfonie-Orchester]]; [[John Eliot Gardiner]], conductor (1992)
* Live Notes: Sue Chen, Akeshi Wakamoto, Kwan-Dong Kim; Little Singers of Tokyo, Tokyo Academy Chorus, [[Tokyo Philharmonic]]; [[Kazushi Ono]], conductor (1993)
* Klavier: Jeannine Altmeyer, Michael Sells, Douglas Lawrence; William Hall Orchestra and Chorale; William Hall, conductor (1994)
* Naxos: Lynda Russell, Thomas Randle, [[Michael Volle]]; [[BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra]]; Scottish Festival Chorus; [[Martyn Brabbins]], conductor (1995)
* Gothic: [[Christine Goerke]], Richard Clement, [[Richard Stilwell (bass-baritone)|Richard Stilwell]]; The Washington Orchestra and Chorus, Shenandoah Conservatory Choir, Maryland Boys Choir; [[Robert Shafer (conductor)|Robert Shafer]], conductor (1995)
* Helicon: Edith Wiens, Nigel Robson, [[Håkan Hagegård]]; [[Israel Philharmonic Orchestra]]; Prague Philharmonic Choir, Ankor Children's Choir; [[Kurt Masur]], conductor (1996)
* Teldec: [[Carol Vaness]], [[Jerry Hadley]], [[Thomas Hampson]]; [[New York Philharmonic]]; [[Westminster Choir|Westminster Symphonic Choir]], [[American Boychoir School|American Boychoir]]; [[Kurt Masur]], conductor (1997)
* LPO: [[Christine Brewer]], [[Anthony Dean Griffey]], [[Gerald Finley]]; [[London Philharmonic Orchestra]] and Choir, Tiffin Boys' Choir; [[Kurt Masur]], conductor (2005)
* Hänssler: [[Annette Dasch]], [[James Taylor (tenor)|James Taylor]], [[Christian Gerhaher]]; Festivalensemble Stuttgart, Aurelius Sängerknaben; [[Helmuth Rilling]], conductor (2007) 
* Decca: [[Christine Goerke]], [[Anthony Dean Griffey]], [[James Westman]]; [[Saito Kinen Orchestra]], Tokyo Opera Singers, Ritsuyukai Choir, SKF Matsumoto Choir, SKF Matsumoto Children's Chorus; [[Seiji Ozawa]], conductor (2010)
* LSO Live: [[Sabina Cvilak]], [[Ian Bostridge]], [[Simon Keenlyside]]; [[London Symphony Chorus]], Choir of [[Eltham College]], [[London Symphony Orchestra]]; [[Gianandrea Noseda]], conductor (2011)
* Challenge Classics: Evelina Dobracheva, [[Anthony Dean Griffey]], [[Mark Stone (baritone)|Mark Stone]]; [[Radio Filharmonisch Orkest|Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra]]; Netherlands Radio Choir, Netherlands Children's Choir; [[Jaap van Zweden]], [[Reinbert de Leeuw]], conductors (2011)
* Arthaus Musik (DVD): [[Erin Wall]], [[Mark Padmore]], [[Hanno Müller-Brachmann]]; [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]]; [[CBSO Chorus]], [[CBSO Youth Chorus]]; [[Andris Nelsons]], conductor (2012)
* BR Klassik: [[Emily Magee]], [[Mark Padmore]], [[Christian Gerhaher]], [[Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra]] and Choir, [[Tölzer Knabenchor]]; [[Mariss Jansons]], conductor (2013)
* Signum: [[Susan Gritton]], [[John Mark Ainsley]], [[Christopher Maltman]]; Gabrieli Consort & Players; Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir, Gabrieli Young Singers Scheme, Trebles of The Choir of New College Oxford; [[Paul McCreesh]], conductor (2013)
* Warner Classics: [[Anna Netrebko]], [[Ian Bostridge]], [[Thomas Hampson]]; [[Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia]]; Choir and Children's Choir of the [[Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia]]; [[Antonio Pappano]], conductor (2013)
* [[Munich Philharmonic]]: Anna Samuil, [[Toby Spence]], Hanno Müller-Brachmann; Munich Philharmonic, Tölzer Knabenchor, Philharmonischer Chor München; [[Lorin Maazel]], conductor (2017)