Britten's War Requiem (1963 recording)

The Decca 1963 recording of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem was the first set of the work to be released. It features Galina Vishnevskaya, Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Melos Ensemble, The Bach Choir and the Highgate School Choir, and was conducted by the composer. The recording was made in the Kingsway Hall in London and was produced by John Culshaw for Decca Records. It rapidly became a best-seller on LP and has subsequently been released on CD and as a download.

The work has subsequently been recorded many times, but Britten's 1963 set remains the benchmark according to 21st-century reviewers.