Benjamin Britten

[springrite]

TotS is rather difficult, indeedie. At least the bleakness of Grimes was accompanied by some wonderful rich Romanticism - TotS is more razor-sharp in its focus and this can be uncomfortable. Not a single impish melody to relieve the pressure.

I have had the Turn of the Screw on DVD for three year but have not watched it yet. I knew all about it and I just have to be in the right state of mind and be really ready before I will watch it.

Maybe some time this year...

[karlhenning]

I have had the Turn of the Screw on DVD for three year but have not watched it yet. I knew all about it and I just have to be in the right state of mind and be really ready before I will watch it.

It is certainly the sort of thing one needs to be in the right frame of mind for.  That is one reason why I made a point of grabbing a vocal score, and following along.

Much as Dyagilev said of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex . . . un cadeau très macabre.

[Lethevich]

Well, there's the nursery rhyme that Flora and Miles sing in unison, but that's just part of the eeriness.

Yip, just more ghost music...

I have had the Turn of the Screw on DVD for three year but have not watched it yet. I knew all about it and I just have to be in the right state of mind and be really ready before I will watch it.

Maybe some time this year...

My first few tries on DVD (I have the attractive movie version on Opus Arte) ended in abortive listens. Mood is certainly important with this work - I have to be in a neutral and relaxed state and at the same time be able to maintain this through something taxing. I can't pull it off very often but when I do it becomes almost trance-like - quite interesting to experience outside of minimalism...

I almost with Britten explored this style further, but that would reduce the impact and originality of TotS, so I suppose the that could be a blessing.

[karlhenning]

I almost [wish] Britten explored this style further, but that would reduce the impact and originality of TotS, so I suppose the that could be a blessing.

Britten's was a formidable talent, as this opera illustrates.  And now, I've got to check out vocal scores for Death in Venice, The Rape of Lucretia, A Midsummer Night's Dream & Gloriana . . . .

[karlhenning]

Have to hear more Britten . . . .

Just checked out vocal scores for Death in Venice and The Rape of Lucretia.

[karlhenning]

I really enjoy the Sinfonia da requiem;  and I probably forgot that it was actually premiered in New York.

[Dundonnell]

I really enjoy the Sinfonia da requiem;  and I probably forgot that it was actually premiered in New York.

The Sinfonia da Requiem is an incredibly powerful and moving work-just about my favourite Britten composition in fact. The fantastic opening with those ferocious pounding timpani strokes followed by the slow, sad , tentative upward moving strings is one of the most arresting openings of any work I know.
Although I have Rattle's performance too, it is hard to beat Britten's own rendering of a work which meant so much to him.

It is astonishing that from 1940-when the piece was composed-until 1974-two years before his death-when the Suite on English Folk Tunes was composed Britten wrote nothing or virtually nothing for full orchestra unaccompanied or outside of an operatic or ballet context.

Sadly, I can make nothing and never have been able to of the Cello symphony

[karlhenning]

On for this weekend:

The Rape of Lucretia
Death in Venice

with vocal scores in hand.

[karlhenning]

On for this weekend:

The Rape of Lucretia
Death in Venice

with vocal scores in hand.

I've got the scores, but that hasn't happened yet.

Should.  Soon.

[karlhenning]

Phaedra
Dramatic Cantata for Mezzo-Soprano and Small Orchestra
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

One of my best, and slightly sad memories, is hearing this piece with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson a few years ago with Sir Colin Davis and the New York Philharmonic--on my birthday.    It was the first time I'd ever heard it.  Needless to say, she was marvelous.  From Alex Ross's tribute to her in The New Yorker:

When she sang Britten's cantata "Phaedra" at the New York Philharmonic, she froze listeners in their seats with her high monotone chant of the words "I stand alone."

A poignant memory to treasure, Bruce.

[karlhenning]

This is my favourite Britten piece and its gripping from start to finish (Hickox' recording on Chandos is the best recording IMO). 

What I love about this piece is that tortured, angular melody of the dirge-like 1st movement is transformed into such a gorgeous sweeping melody in the 3rd movement-- at which point I often find myself in tears (the climax of the first movement does the same, but for different reasons).  Its as if you can really HEAR swords being re-shaped into plowshares!  There's such a compassion in this piece that really gets to me...

A post worth returning to.

[karlhenning]

Sadly, I can make nothing and never have been able to of the Cello symphony

How long have you been a-trying, Colin?

[knight66]

Phaedra
Dramatic Cantata for Mezzo-Soprano and Small Orchestra
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

I recall watching Janet Baker sing it just after Britten had died, tears rolling down her face. That was not something this true professional permitted herself on even an irregular basis.

Karl, How are rapine and death going? 

Mike

[karlhenning]

Karl, How are rapine and death going? 

Taxiing on the runway, Mike.  I was almost poised to set the time for these . . . and last night I was invited to play at an event on Sunday the 19^th.  So it's back into practice-as-much-as-the clock-allows mode.

[knight66]

Each is a three course meal, so perhaps allow space for digestion in between. Lucretia is positively bizarre in its structure. I like the music for the male and female chorus; but why a pre-Christian story is given a Christian framework of comment is beyond me.

My recording has Baker at her best and Luxon at his brief best.

Mike

[bhodges]

Each is a three course meal, so perhaps allow space for digestion in between. Lucretia is positively bizarre in its structure. I like the music for the male and female chorus; but why a pre-Christian story is given a Christian framework of comment is beyond me.

My recording has Baker at her best and Luxon at his brief best.

Mike

Thanks for mentioning Luxon, whom I haven't thought about in awhile.  At his best, he was really marvelous. 

--Bruce

[knight66]

The poor guy got tinnitus very badly and had to give up singing.

Mike

[bhodges]

Oh how awful...I never knew that.  Just assumed his voice "went" somehow, since there are no guarantees with singers.  Is it known what caused it?  (Suddenly I'm thinking of orchestral musicians who have complained recently about the volume levels onstage...)

--Bruce

[knight66]

I don't know Bruce. We used to see him a lot, in the opera house and when I was in choir. Then suddenly, he disappeared.

Here is an extract from Wikipedia.

In 1990, Luxon's career was jeopardized by sudden hearing loss. He resumed international engagements in 1992, but continued fluctuation and deterioration in his hearing forced him to end his singing career a few years later. Since then, however, he has developed a career as a narrator and poetry reader whilst continuing to give master classes and direct opera.

Luxon was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours.[1]


Mike

[Guido]

http://www.wrightmusic.org.uk/britten.html

Astonishing piece of writing. The guy is clearly absolutely mental - has anyone heard of him/met him?

There's stuff on Elgar too, which I'll post on the Elgar thread.