For the "War Requiem, " Britten assembled a large orchestra, a smaller chamber orchestra, two organs, three vocal soloists, a chorus and a boys' choir (positioned at a distance, with a portable organ or harmonium).
"I don't think there is any other composer who set the English language better to music, " says tenor Nicholas Phan, who has recorded two albums of Britten, and will perform in the "War Requiem" next November with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony.