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Information to Users Benjamin Britten's "The Company of Heaven". Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Weber, Michael James. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 29/09/2021 04:21:02 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/185097 INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thy-,;" tIme thesis and dissertation .copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. U-M-I University Microfilms International A Bell & Howellinformalion Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, M148106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9028169 Benjamin Britten's "The Company of Heaven" Weber, Michael James, A.Mus.D. The University of Arizona, 1990 V·M·I 300 N. Zccb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN by Michael James Weber A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1990 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by ____~Mi~c~h~a~e~l~J~am==e~s~W~e~b~c~r~ _____________________ entitled Be~1amin Britten's The COHWany of Heaven and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement Date 1/ /6/9'6 Date r I Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director Date 3 STATEMENT BY THE AUTHOR This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . • • .5 ABSTRACT. • • • 7 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM. • • • • • .8 NEED FOR THE STUDY ••••• . • • .9 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY •• . • 10 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ••• . • • 11 CHAPTER I. BENJAMIN BRITTEN •••••••••••••••• 12 II. OVERVIEW OF SELECTED COMPOSITIONS 1930-1937 ••• 16 111. THE TEXTS OF THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN • . • • • 28 IV. THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN. • • • • • • • • 31 V. OVERVIEW OF SELECTED COMPOSITIONS 1937-1948 ••• 62 VI. CONCLUSIONS.............. • • 81 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • 86 5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Page 1 • A Boy Was Born, measures 1-4 .18 2. A Boy Was Born, measures 1-12. .19 3. Simple Symphony, Movement I, measures 38-46. .22 4. Our Hunting Fathers, measures 18-21. .25 5. Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Movement II, measures 1-4. • .27 6. "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" .34 7. The Company Of Heaven, Movement I, measures 1-5. .34 8. Movement I, measures 38-42 .35 9. Movement I, measures 61-70 .36 10. Movement II, measures 1-4. .37 11. Movement II, measures 4-7. .37 12. Movement II, measures 34-36. .39 13. Hymn tune for Christe sanctorum. .40 14. Movement IV, measures 1-4. .41 15. Movement IV, measures 9-12 .42 16. Movement V, measure 6. .44 17a. Movement II, measure 1 .45 17b. Movement V, measure 21 • .45 18. Movement VI, measures 3-5. .46 19. Movement VI, measures 9-12 .47 6 20. Movement VI, measures 30-33. .49 21. Movement VII, measures 1-9 .51 22a. Movement IIIc, measures 4-7. .55 22b. Movement IX, measures 1-5. .55 23. Movement X, measures 1-4 .57 24. Movement XI, measures 32-36. .59 25. Movement XI, measures 42-49. .60 26a. Movement II, measures 35-37. .63 26b. Island, "Now the Leaves," measures 4-7 .63 27a. Movement VIII, measures 23-26. .64 27b. Island, "Seascage," measures 6-8 .64 28. Advanced Democracy, measures 7-10. .65 29. Ballad, "Funeral March," measures 5-9. .66 30a. Movement II, measures 1-4. .67 30b. Ballad~ "Scherzo," measures 1-4. .67 31. Sinfonia, "Lacrymosa," measures 8-15 .70 32. Sinfonia, "Lacrymosa," measures 197-204. • 71 33. Michelangelo, "Sonetto XXX," measures 1-4. .72 34. Ceremony, "Balulalow," measures 1-6. .74 35. Nicolas, Movement V, measures 87-96. .80 7 ABSTRACT Benjamin Britten was commissioned by the BBC to write music for a radio broadcast on Michaelmas (September 29) in 1937. This was to be Britten's second work in the field of radio incidental music and in contrast to many earlier BBC radio programs he was the only composer for the Michaelmas broadcast. The document concentrates on the musical content of the eleven movements of The Company of Heaven, the source of the spoken and sung texts assembled by Richard Ellis Roberts, the compositiona~ techniques found in select works written by Britten from 1930-1937 that influenced the content of The Company of Heaven, and the influence that The Company of Heaven had on subsequent select compositions during the next ten years. 8 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Benjamin Britten was commissioned by the BBC to write music for a radio broadcast on Michaelmas in 1937. The texts for the broadcast were assembled by Richard Ellis Roberts and gave Britten an opportunity to compose music in contrasting dramatic and contemplative moods. This was to be his second work in the field of radio incidental music and in contrast to many earlier BBC radio programs he was the only composer for the Michae1mas broadcast. Since Britten was responsible for the music of the entire broadcast, did he attempt to organize or unite the composition using motivic devices? Was Britten influenced by the techniques he used in earlier compositions? Did Britten use techniques found in The Company of Heaven in later compositions? Did Britten write unique or unusual music for the chorus or orchestra to interpret the texts? Was this piece revolutionary in the development of Britten's compositional style? Through the study of selected scores, review of scholarly literature pertaining to Britten's compositional style and observations of The Company of Heaven, the study will try to answer the questions which have been raised above. 9 NEED FOR THE STUDY Since the first performance of The Company of Heaven in 1937, there has not been a complete presentation of this radio cantata until the 1989 Aldeburgh Festival. There was a partial performance of the work in a concert version in 1956 which was also broadcast on the BBC. The one American performance of this work was presented in Minneapolis, Minnesota in December of 1989. Up to this time, there has been no scholarly study of The Company of Heaven. An article has been published in The Musical Times (see page 28) that deals mainly with the circumstances surrounding the commission and performance of the cantata, and only briefly with the musical content of the work. Britten did write a substantial amount of incidental music for the theatre, for films, and for radio broadcasts. Much of this music is unpublished and therefore rarely studied. When some pieces are mentioned, they are seldom related to his other compositions. This study is the first to analyze an example of incidental music. 10 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The limited availability of published incidental music restricts access to any analytical comparison of The Company of Heaven and Britten's other incidental music. Because of this restriction, The Company of Heaven was compared to a selection of the composer's more obtainable published works. Care has been taken however not to neglect the available sources concerning incidental music. 11 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY This study will analyze the techniques that Benjamin Britten used in writing The Company of Heaven, and to compare these techniques to his other compositions, particularly the works written before this piece and those composed within a ten-year period after this work, in order to identify his style.
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