Remembering the Holocaust - Defiant Requiem

[Ian Macmillan]

No doubt it will be in vain for those who are curiously emotionally involved in moves between companies that must, in truth, be remote from them, but might I commend the documentary just finished on BBC Four - its title is as above - in the hope of regaining a little perspective on life.  As much as I have heard and read over the years about the Holocaust, I had not till tonight been aware of a number of performances of Verdi's "Requiem" given by prisoners in Theresienstadt (Terezin) in 1943/44.  This documentary told the story of how conductor Rafael Schachter put together a choir to perform the work, all of it having to be committed to memory, something that happened some 15 times in all before he and the others were transported to Auschwitz.  This was done within the framework of preparation for a commemorative performance involving, if I had it correctly, two sons of one of the original singers who, himself, had survived.  A most moving film, and I assume that it will be available on iPlayer over the next week or so:  

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03slv8r/Remembering_the_Holocaust_Defiant_Requiem/