She was, however, permitted to perform in the recording sessions, meaning Britten's intended lineup of a singer from each of Russia, Germany and the UK was achieved.

The two male soloists, representing two soldiers, and the chamber orchestra which accompanies them were placed to the right of the space in a dry acoustic to capture verbal clarity and to more accurately portray Britten's directions in the score, which frequently called for a "cold" tone from the string players.

The boys chorus and small organ were placed to the left of the space to create the sense of distance Britten wanted.

[7] During rehearsals John Culshaw surreptitiously taped footage which was presented as a special vinyl record with its own catalogue number, BB50, to Britten on his 50th birthday.

Gramophone, in their review of the first release, praised John Culshaw and his team and said "the stereo reproduces the three different planes of sound even more convincingly than any 'live' performance could".