Benjamin Britten

[MusicTurner]

Oh, cool!  How is the recording quality of the pieces?

Enjoy the Britten; I hope to put it on after a quick errand.

PD

Thanks. The concertos are in mono, so not the best - but one can be more tolerant, when it's about Russian music I'd normally hate it with delicate ~impressionist music, for example - unless it's just a piano.

[Mirror Image]

Getting back to Britten...

If you could only pick two song cycles from Britten to carry with you to the desert island, what would they be?

[absolutelybaching]

Getting back to Britten...

If you could only pick two song cycles from Britten to carry with you to the desert island, what would they be?

I shall cheat!

If I'm allowed an orchestra, then it would have to be the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, followed by the Nocturne.
If we're talking song cycles with just voice and piano, I'd take the Winter Words and Who Are These Children -though that leaves me bereft of the Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, which would be a bit sad!

[Mirror Image]

I shall cheat!

If I'm allowed an orchestra, then it would have to be the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, followed by the Nocturne.
If we're talking song cycles with just voice and piano, I'd take the Winter Words and Who Are These Children -though that leaves me bereft of the Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, which would be a bit sad!

All fine choices, indeed. Winter Words I found especially good when I last listened to it. Of course, Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings and Nocturne are masterpieces.

[Artem]

Any specific recordings for those pieces?

[absolutelybaching]

Any specific recordings for those pieces?

Well, there are all the obvious ones.

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings was recorded by Britten and Pears in 1944 with the Boyd Neel Orchestra: mono, but Pears is in fine, young voice. I have the original 78rpms, but it was released on CD (for example: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7923805--british-music-collection-britten-walton). A later recording combines the Britten/Pears/London Symphony Orchestra recording of 1963 with the Britten/Pears/English Chamber Orchestra recording of the Nocturne in 1959 (see https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7932216--britten-serenade-nocturne-and-les-illuminations for an example).

The 1963/1959 recordings are really the reference recordings for both those works: good stereo sound, conducted by the composer, with excellent orchestral playing and Pears in good voice.

For Winter Words, there's the mono Britten/Pears recording of 1954, https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7949646--benjamin-britten-song-cycles. If you insist on better stereo sound, however, you aren't going to find it with those performers. I have the Daniel Norman/Christopher Gould recording of 2005 (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7965287--britten-who-are-these-children), which I like a lot: the tenor is Pears-ish clear and bright and the piano is Britten-esque crisp. I also have the Eric Rieger/J Penna recording of 2017, but I like it considerably less, because the piano sounds muted and the voice somewhat strangulated for my tastes. Both performers sound like they're piping their performance in from the next room over, too (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8459377--poets-journey-song-cycles-of-benjamin-britten).

For Who Are These Children, the reference recording remains the Britten/Pears one of 1972 (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7949646--benjamin-britten-song-cycles). However, that's also on the Norman/Gould recording previously mentioned, and is fine. There is quite a good Naxos recording of it too, with Mark Wilde and David Owen Norris (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8001121--britten-complete-scottish-songs), at budget price.

Hope that helps some. (And, PS, I'm not affiliated with Presto Music in any way! I just find them easy to search, sample and buy in both physical and digital formats).

[Roasted Swan]

I'm no Britten expert but for Winter Words this cycle with the very great Ian partridge is hard to beat (I much prefer him to PP)



currently a copy is on Amazon UK for £1.76.... (plus p&p)

On the theme of Partridge ..... his Serenade is excellent too with Nicholas Busch the very fine horn soloist



also on Amazon for £1.84 for the 2 discs.  This set includes a very good Handley/Tippett/Double Concerto, Handley/RVW/Prelude & Fugue and Tallis Fantasia and a not bad Britten Violin Concerto and a not great Belshazzar's Feast.  The Tippett and the Serenade are the highlights.......

[Skogwald]

This is what I have been listening to lately. Excellent performances of the two pieces I consider Ben's masterpieces (granted that there's so much I haven't yet heard).

[Roasted Swan]

This is what I have been listening to lately. Excellent performances of the two pieces I consider Ben's masterpieces (granted that there's so much I haven't yet heard).

The Britten Quartet didn't last that long as an ensemble but just about every disc they made was tremendous.  I can't speak with any authority on these particular performances - I know them and do like them.