Benjamin Britten's Neglected “Gemini Variations,”
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Britten Connections a Guide for Performers and Programmers
Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers by Paul Kildea Britten –Pears Foundation Telephone 01728 451 700 The Red House, Golf Lane, [email protected] Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5PZ www.brittenpears.org Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers by Paul Kildea Contents The twentieth century’s Programming tips for 03 consummate musician 07 13 selected Britten works Britten connected 20 26 Timeline CD sampler tracks The Britten-Pears Foundation is grateful to Orchestra, Naxos, Nimbus Records, NMC the following for permission to use the Recordings, Onyx Classics. EMI recordings recordings featured on the CD sampler: BBC, are licensed courtesy of EMI Classics, Decca Classics, EMI Classics, Hyperion Records, www.emiclassics.com For full track details, 28 Lammas Records, London Philharmonic and all label websites, see pages 26-27. Index of featured works Front cover : Britten in 1938. Photo: Howard Coster © National Portrait Gallery, London. Above: Britten in his composition studio at The Red House, c1958. Photo: Kurt Hutton . 29 Further information Opposite left : Conducting a rehearsal, early 1950s. Opposite right : Demonstrating how to make 'slung mugs' sound like raindrops for Noye's Fludde , 1958. Photo: Kurt Hutton. Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers 03 The twentieth century's consummate musician In his tweed jackets and woollen ties, and When asked as a boy what he planned to be He had, of course, a great guide and mentor. with his plummy accent, country houses and when he grew up, Britten confidently The English composer Frank Bridge began royal connections, Benjamin Britten looked replied: ‘A composer.’ ‘But what else ?’ was the teaching composition to the teenage Britten every inch the English gentleman. -
BENJAMIN BRITTEN a Ceremony of Carols IRELAND | BRIDGE | HOLST
BENJAMIN BRITTEN A Ceremony of Carols IRELAND | BRIDGE | HOLST Choir of Clare College, Cambridge Graham Ross FRANZ LISZT A Ceremony of Carols BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) ANONYMOUS, arr. BENJAMIN BRITTEN 1 | Venite exultemus Domino 4’11 12 | The Holly and the Ivy 3’36 for mixed choir and organ (1961) traditional folksong, arranged for mixed choir a cappella (1957) 2 | Te Deum in C 7’40 for mixed choir and organ (1934) BENJAMIN BRITTEN 3 | Jubilate Deo in C 2’30 13 | Sweet was the song the Virgin sung 2’45 for mixed choir and organ (1961) from Christ’s Nativity for soprano and mixed choir a cappella (1931) 4 | Deus in adjutorium meum intende 4’37 from This Way to the Tomb for mixed choir a cappella (1944-45) A Ceremony of Carols op. 28 (1942, rev. 1943) version for mixed choir and harp arranged by JULIUS HARRISON (1885-1963) 5 | A Hymn to the Virgin 3’23 for solo SATB and mixed choir a cappella (1930, rev. 1934) 14 | 1. Procession 1’18 6 | A Hymn of St Columba 2’01 15 | 2. Wolcum Yole! 1’21 for mixed choir and organ (1962) 16 | 3. There is no rose 2’27 7 | Hymn to St Peter op. 56a 5’57 17 | 4a. That yongë child 1’50 for mixed choir and organ (1955) 18 | 4b. Balulalow 1’18 19 | 5. As dew in Aprille 0’56 JOHN IRELAND (1879-1962) 20 | 6. This little babe 1’24 8 | The Holy Boy 2’50 version for mixed choir a cappella (1941) 21 | 7. -
Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Summer, 1946
TANGLEWOOD— LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS THE Berkshire Music Center SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Director presents " ! cc PETER GRIMES" 11 by BENJAMIN BRITTEN Tuesday Evening, August 6 Wednesday Evening, August 7 Friday Evening, August 9 IP •*• 1946 W' !.«.w,a'i STEINWiV Since the time of Liszt, the Steinway has consistently been, year after year, the medium chosen by an overwhelming number of concert artists to express their art. Eugene List, Mischa El man and William Kroll, soloists of this Berk- shire Festival, use the Steinway. Significantly enough, the younger artists, the Masters of tomorrow, entrust their future to this world-famous piano — they cannot afford otherwise to en- danger their artistic careers. The Stein- way is, and ever has been, the Glory Road of the Immortals. M. STEINERT & SONS CO. : 162 BOYLSTON ST., BOSTON Jerome F. Murphy, President • Also Worcester and Springfield THEATRE-CONCERT HALL TANGLEWOOD (Between Stockbridge and Lenox, Massachusetts) Berkshire Music Center . SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY, Director Season 1946 Program Bulletin with historical and descriptive notes by John N. Burk COPYRIGHT, 1946, BY BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, InC. The trustees of the BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Inc. Henry B. Cabot President Henry B. Sawyer Vice-President Richard C. Paine Treasurer Philip R. Allen M. A. De Wolfe Howe John Nicholas Brown Jacob J. Kaplan Alvan T. Fuller Roger I. Lee Jerome D. Greene Bentley W. Warren N, Penrose Hallowell Raymond S. Wilkins Francis W. Hatch Oliver Wolcott TANGLEWOOD ADVISORY COMMITTEE Allan J. Blau G. Churchill Francis George P. Clayson Lawrence K. Miller Bruce Crane James T. Owens Henry W. Dwight Lester Roberts George W. Edman Whitney S. -
Britten's Acoustic Miracles in Noye's Fludde and Curlew River
Britten’s Acoustic Miracles in Noye’s Fludde and Curlew River A thesis submitted by Cole D. Swanson In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Music TUFTS UNIVERSITY May 2017 Advisor: Alessandra Campana Readers: Joseph Auner Philip Rupprecht ii ABSTRACT Benjamin Britten sought to engage the English musical public through the creation of new theatrical genres that renewed, rather than simply reused, historical frameworks and religious gestures. I argue that Britten’s process in creating these genres and their representative works denotes an operation of theatrical and musical “re-enchantment,” returning spiritual and aesthetic resonance to the cultural relics of a shared British heritage. My study focuses particularly on how this process of renewal further enabled Britten to engage with the state of amateur and communal music participation in post-war England. His new, genre-bending works that I engage with represent conscious attempts to provide greater opportunities for amateur performance, as well cultivating sonically and thematically inclusive sound worlds. As such, Noye’s Fludde (1958) was designed as a means to revive the musical past while immersing the Aldeburgh Festival community in present musical performance through Anglican hymn singing. Curlew River (1964) stages a cultural encounter between the medieval past and the Japanese Nō theatre tradition, creating an atmosphere of sensory ritual that encourages sustained and empathetic listening. To explore these genre-bending works, this thesis considers how these musical and theatrical gestures to the past are reactions to the post-war revivalist environment as well as expressions of Britten’s own musical ethics and frustrations. -
Boys' Voices, Lads' Voices: Benjamin Britten and the “Raggazo
Boys’ Voices, Lads’ Voices: Benjamin Britten and the “Raggazo” (Continental) Sound. Jim Coyle Lecturer, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney, Australia. Abstract Over 20% of the opus-numbered compositions by Benjamin Britten involved the sound of young voices. In thirteen of these pieces, he stipulated a chorus of trebles. Britten is known to have had a preference for what he perceived as a natural singing sound, rather than the refined and pure tone of a cathedral choir. This study analyses these works for five musical parameters: pitch range, pitch proximity, mean pitch, phrase length, and notated dynamics to demonstrate that Britten had two distinct styles when writing for treble chorus. One is for the traditional English cathedral sound and the other is for the ‘continental’ voice produced by certain choirs for whom he wrote. There are some transitional works composed in the late 1940s and early 1950s that show characteristics of both of these styles. These conclusions will help in interpreting Britten’s works and as technical guidelines for composers seeking particular effects when writing for the treble choir. Keywords trebles, cathedral choir, Benjamin Britten, boys, continental tone, ragazzo. Introduction The Nature of the Question The use of boys’ voices is a noticeable characteristic of the music of English composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976). He was strongly committed to writing music for children and young people of both sexes and used them as soloists, in small ensembles, and in larger choruses and choirs (Holst, 1966). Certain of the works involving a chorus of boys show a marked timbral difference from the others and were composed with that particularly robust tone colour, the continental or ragazzo sound, in mind (Ashley, 2009). -
Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde
BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S NOYE’S FLUDDE An Intergenerational Experience for Church Music Programs Joshua Hawkins Nannestad Joshua Hawkins Nannestad is a doctoral student of choral conducting at Boston University. He teaches music to students aged fi ve to eighty-fi ve in central Massachusetts. <[email protected]> certainly write music for human be- ings, directly and deliberately. I consider their voices, the range, the power, the I subtlety, and the colour potentialities of them all. I consider the instruments they play, their most expressive and suitable in- dividual sonorities, and where I may be said to have invented an instrument (such as the Slung Mugs of Noye’s Fludde), I have borne in mind the pleasure the young performers will have in playing it. I also take note of the human circumstances of music, of its environment and conventions. I believe, you see, in occasional music. Almost every piece of music I have ever written has been composed with a certain oc- casion in mind, usually for defi nite performers, and certainly always human ones.1 The Britten centennial year provides a little- needed excuse to program beloved works by the English master. No doubt huge-scale produc- tions of War Requiem will be mounted, Jubilate Deo in C will resonate in church choir lofts, and Rejoice in the Lamb will continue to occupy conducting syllabi everywhere. One hopes that young singers will delight in Old Abram Brown at the same time that The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard inspires a new crop of young men in high school and college choirs. -
Benjamin Britten
BENJAMIN BRITTEN Personální bibliografie Z DÍLA BENJAMINA BRITTENA Hudebniny A birthday Hansel [hudebnina]. For high voice and harp, op. 92. [Composed by] Benjamin Britten. Poems by Robert Burns. The harp part edited by Osian Ellis. London : Faber Music, 1978. 1 partitura (30 s.). A Ceremony of Carols [hudebnina]. For treble voices and harp, Op. 28. Übersetzung aus dem Engl. von Herbert E. Herlitschka. London : Boosey & Hawkes, 1994. 1 partitura (64 s.). A. M. D. G. [hudebnina]. Ad majorem Dei gloriam (1939). Seven settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins for unaccompanied SATB. London : Faber Music, 1989. 1 sborová partitura (55 s.). A Midsummer night’s dream [hudebnina]. Ein Sommernachtstraum. Opera in three acts, op. 64. [Composed by] Benjamin Britten. Libretto adapted from William Shakespeare by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. London : Boosey & Hawkes, 1960. 1 klavírní výtah (314 s.). An American ouverture (1941) [hudebnina]. For orchestra. London : Faber, 1985. 1 partitura (34 s.). Cadenzas to Mozart’s piano concerto in Es, K 482 [hudebnina]. London : Faber, 1967. 7 s. Canticle IV [hudebnina]. Journey of the Magi. For counter-tenor, tenor, baritone and piano. Op. 86. [Composed by] Benjamin Britten. Poem by T. S. Eliot. London : Faber Music, 1972. 1 partitura (24 s.). Canticle V [hudebnina]. The death of Saint Narcissus. For tenor and harp, op. 89. [Composed by] Benjamin Britten. Poem by T. S. Eliot. London : Faber Music, 1996. 1 partitura (15 s.). Concerto No. 1, Op. 15 for Violin and Orchestra [hudebnina]. Reduction for Violin and Piano. London : Hawkes & Son, c1940. 1 klavírní výtah (40 s.) + 1 hlas (17 s.). CROZIER, Eric: Wir machen eine Oper [hudebnina]. -
Benjamin Britten's Compositions for Children and Amateurs: Cloaking
i O ^ 3 3 1 Benjamin Britten’s compositions for children and amateurs: cloaking simplicity behind the veil of sophistication by Angie Flynn Thesis submitted to the National University of Ireland, Maynooth as part- fulfilment for the degree of Master of Arts in Historical Studies Head of Department: Professor Gerard Gillen Department of Music National University of Ireland Maynooth Co. Kildare Supervisor: Dr Mark Fitzgerald Department of Music National University of Ireland Maynooth Co. Kildare Naas, July 2006 \ 7 h N o r w i c h E a s t S u f f o l k s o u t h w o l d ; PEASENHA1X N o /\ t h YOXFORD SAXMUNDHAM GREAT flLC N H A M AL JOE BURGH PART OP j THE To I p n v ith & L o n d o n SUFFOLK COAST Contents Preface ii Acknowledgements v Introduction vii Benjamin Britten’s compositions for children and amateurs: cloaking simplicity behind the veil of sophistication Chapter 1 - 1 Chapter 2- 16 Chapter 3 - 30 Chapter 4 - 44 Conclusion 57 Appendix A 60 Appendix B 62 Appendix C 71 Appendix D 75 Bibliography 76 Abstract 80 Preface This thesis conforms to the house style of the Department of Music, National University of Ireland, Maynooth. As far as possible an adherence to The Oxford Dictionary of English has been made for spellings, where a choice is necessary. Any direct quotations from Britten’s letters or diaries (or, indeed, any correspondence relating to him) maintain his rather idiosyncratic and variable spelling style (e.g. ‘abit’) and his practice for underlining words, which would appear to be a habit he retained from childhood, and no attempt has thus been made to alter them. -
Week 6 2016–17 Season Britten Sibelius Adès
2016–17 season andris nelsons music director week 6 britten sibelius adès season sponsors seiji ozawa music director laureate bernard haitink conductor emeritus lead sponsor supporting sponsor thomas adès artistic partner The most famous 19th-century American painter you’ve never heard of Through January 16, 2017 mfa.org/chase “William Merritt Chase” was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Phillips Collection, Presented with generous support from The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation Washington, DC; the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia; and the Terra Foundation for American Art. for the Arts, Inc., and the Deedee and Barrie A. Wigmore Fund in honor of Malcolm Rogers. Additional support from the Betty L. Heath Paintings Fund for the Art of the Americas, and the The exhibition and its publication were made possible with the Eugenie Prendergast Memorial Fund, made possible by a grant from Jan and Warren Adelson. generous support of the Terra Foundation for American Art. William Merritt Chase, The Young Orphan (An Idle Moment) (detail), 1884. Oil on canvas. NA diploma presentation, November 24, 1890. National Academy Museum, New York (221-P). Table of Contents | Week 6 7 bso news 1 5 on display in symphony hall 16 bso music director andris nelsons 18 the boston symphony orchestra 21 brahms’s orchestral voice by jan swafford 2 8 this week’s program Notes on the Program 30 The Program in Brief… 31 Benjamin Britten 39 Jean Sibelius 47 Thomas Adès 65 To Read and Hear More… Guest Artists 69 Thomas Adès 71 Christianne Stotijn 73 Mark Stone 74 sponsors and donors 88 future programs 90 symphony hall exit plan 9 1 symphony hall information the friday preview on november 4 is given by bso assistant director of program publications robert kirzinger. -
Essays on Benjamin Britten from a Centenary Symposium
Essays on Benjamin Britten from a Centenary Symposium Essays on Benjamin Britten from a Centenary Symposium Edited by David Forrest, Quinn Patrick Ankrum, Stacey Jocoy and Emily Ahrens Yates Essays on Benjamin Britten from a Centenary Symposium Edited by David Forrest, Quinn Patrick Ankrum, Stacey Jocoy and Emily Ahrens Yates This book first published 2017 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2017 by David Forrest, Quinn Patrick Ankrum, Stacey Jocoy, Emily Ahrens Yates and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-8613-0 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8613-0 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ............................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 David Forrest Part One: Essays Chapter One ................................................................................................. 9 Anthologizing Christmas: Britten’s Literacy and A Boy was Born Kevin Salfen Chapter -
Jazz Man” from Friday Afternoons, Op
VII Title: “The Jazz Man” from Friday Afternoons, Op. 7 Unison treble voices with piano Composer: Benjamin Britten Text: Eleanor Farjeon Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes, 1936, 19388 Background Information: From http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/britten.html: The renowned twentieth century English composer, Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed major works in all mediums. His operas include Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Albert Herring, The Beggar’s Opera, The Little Sweep, Death in Venice, Gloriana, and The Turn of the Screw. Many of his works were written for the Aldeburgh Festival, which he and his lifetime companion, Peter Pears, founded in 1948. These include St. Nicholas, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Spring Symphony the War Requiem and his closing masterpiece, String Quartet no. 3. From www.treblechorus.com/content/main/recordings.199610.htm: Britten wrote this collection for his teaching the boys of Clive House at the Prestatyn School on “friday afternoons”. A recording of this entire collection, sung by The Treble Choir of New England, can be ordered at this site. Musical Elements: Meter: 2/2 Tempo: Quick, with fire Form: Through Composed: Piano Intro, A (a/piano interjection b c d d1 d11) Piano Interlude B (a/piano interjection b c d e) Piano chord Tonality: A do with modulating phrases to B C and D ∫ ∫, , Phrasing and Harmony: Marked in the score Dynamics mf, f, ff Vocal Technique Elements: Range: e – f1 ∫ Tessitura: a- e1 Pitch set: Melody - A do: Fi1 S1 L1T1 D R M F S L ∫ Rhythm: Harmony ç,: piano Ç, accompaniment∂, Î , ß , Í creates some dissonant harmonies along with traditional functions Text: Fun description of a one-man Jazz band by Eleanor Farjeon. -
Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten “Britten” redirects here. For other uses, see Britten the operas are the struggle of an outsider against a hostile (disambiguation). society, and the corruption of innocence. Britten’s other works range from orchestral to choral, solo vocal, chamber and instrumental as well as film mu- sic. He took a great interest in writing music for chil- dren and amateur performers, including the opera Noye’s Fludde, a Missa Brevis, and the song collection Friday Af- ternoons. He often composed with particular performers in mind. His most frequent and important muse was his personal and professional partner, the tenor Peter Pears; others included Kathleen Ferrier, Jennifer Vyvyan, Janet Baker, Dennis Brain, Julian Bream, Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau and Mstislav Rostropovich. Britten was a cel- ebrated pianist and conductor, performing many of his own works in concert and on record. He also per- formed and recorded works by others, such as Bach's Brandenburg concertos, Mozart symphonies, and song cy- cles by Schubert and Schumann. Together with Pears and the librettist and producer Eric Crozier, Britten founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, and he was responsible for the creation of Snape Maltings concert hall in 1967. In his last year, he was the first composer to be given a life peerage. Britten in the mid-1960s (photograph by Hans Wild) 1 Life and career Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH 1.1 Early years (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central fig- ure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces.