Benjamin Britten

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Time to revive this thread. Did any of my fellow Brittenites buy the Decca Complete Works set? If not, then I highly recommend it. The box itself is a piece of art. One of the most extravagant box sets I own. It's also quite large, so be sure to make some shelf space for it. I haven't even begun to discover the riches of this treasure trove.

If I didn't already have about a third of this box I'd have jumped on it.

Advantageously, this jumbo box has been broken up into subsets, one of which wouldn't be a problem for me duplication-wise:



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[Mirror Image]

Gloriana and its suite are fantastic. And such an emotional ending, as with many of Britten's operas. I prefer listening to the suite with the voice rather than the oboe during the Lute Song.

+1 Edward Gardner's performance of the suite from Gloriana (on Chandos) contains the vocal in the Lute Song and it's all the more magical for it.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

.....many of the recordings have the Culshaw sound miracle.

Yes, that might not be something many folks think about, but when it comes to Decca and Britten you can bet on some of the...how to put it...most likable sound out there. The TLC is everywhere. It's like Decca had a personal stake in the sonic outcome above the usual commercial considerations (they liked the guy? Nationals banding together?). 

Even the mono-era recordings sound totally above-and-beyond...

[Mirror Image]

A little too much opera for me, but I have a number of these recordings, which are superb. Unlike many composers Britten was a superb conductor, and a many of the recordings have the Culshaw sound miracle.

I recommend the 6 cd ERato EMI chamber music box.

I've still yet to fully appreciate operatic Britten, but I admit to having a soft spot for Death in Venice, which, for me, is one of the most incredible operas I've ever heard. In the Bridcut documentary, Britten's Endgame, it has extensive clips of this opera scattered throughout and I was completely captivated by the music. This could very well be his crowning achievement in a long history of such accolades.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I've still yet to fully appreciate operatic Britten, but I admit to having a soft spot for Death in Venice, which, for me, is one of the most incredible operas I've ever heard. In the Bridcut documentary, Britten's Endgame, it has extensive clips of this opera scattered throughout and I was completely captivated by the music. This could very well be his crowning achievement in a long history of such accolades.

It only gets better with Britten's opera.

[Mirror Image]

I thought I would take a minute to bring this thread back into the fore with a comment on his Sinfonietta, Op. 1. Britten composed this in 1932 when he was all of 19 years old and it sounds like the work of a mature composer. The middle movement Variation: Andante Lento is mesmerizing as these lyrical themes seem to open up some kind of suppressed emotion that must have came ahead as he was composing this movement. Really enchanting music for such a young composer.

[Moonfish]

How is Humphrey Carpenter's biography of Britten? Recommended? Which ones of the published biographies are worthwhile?

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[Karl Henning]

Rejoice in the clam, Boston!

http://www.youtube.com/v/FHge7vHuzcM

Afraid I still think that writing the Alleluias as a quintuplet rhythm is quite nearly pointlessly fussy.

[vandermolen]

I'm not an especial admirer of Britten's music but I received this through the post today and found the performances to be sensational, especially the Passacgaglia from Peter Grimes conducted by Eduard van Beinum which had never been on CD before and much can be said of his interpretation of the 'Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'. I am very curious to hear Britten's performance of Sinfonia da Requiem with the Danish RSO. This CD contains more or less all my favourite Britten work as I am not a great opera fan:
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[cilgwyn]

Arrived today! I like 'Our Hunting Fathers';and this performance. I heard it broadcast on R3 years ago. I bought a s/h cassette,it was faulty,so I bought this from an extremely well know UK purveyor of secondhand cds. (Just under three quid,post free!)
I also like Söderström's performances of the folksongs. Lovely!   Unlike vandermolen I do like quite allot of Britten's music;particularly in those old Decca recordings.

[cilgwyn]

Yes,I think Our Hunting Fathers is a very entertaining piece of music. The Britten thread isn't very long,which speaks for itself;but this is one of his most approachable works;all those rolled 'rr's' and whoops,great fun! Although,hearing Pears yelling 'rrr-ats',in his posh voice,possibly even more so. Hard not to recall Dudley Moore,here! Not so keen on the Serenade. Not because I don't like it;but because it's Robert Tear. Alright sometimes,but not one of my favourite singers. Okay for a bonus,though! I like Britten's arrangements of Folksongs. Sophie Wyss is lovely on those old 1940's recordings of French Folksongs. Having said that I don't mind a bit of Steeleye Span with Maddy Prior or Planxty,now and again.!!

I'm listening to the new Lyrita Bernard van Dieren cd,now!!

[Karl Henning]

Yes,I think Our Hunting Fathers is a very entertaining piece of music. The Britten thread isn't very long,which speaks for itself [....]

No thread could be as long as the Havergal Brian thread, of course 

[Karl Henning]

If I knew that there is a saxophone in the scoring for the Op.8, I had completely forgotten.

[Karl Henning]

The mordant xylophone at the end reminds me curiously of On Watch in the Shostakovich Fourteenth.

[ritter]

The mordant xylophone at the end reminds me curiously of On Watch in the Shostakovich Fourteenth.

Birds of a feather flock together....

[Karl Henning]

Birds of a feather flock together....

Aye, they were kindred spirits in a way.  The curiosity is, though, that the symphony is such late Shostakovich, and the Op.8 is such early Britten   

[snyprrr]

I enjoyed some of Stephen Hough's Virgin disc of Britten Piano Music, though, none of it seems essential to me. The 'Night Piece' (?) seemed the nicest. Mmmm... really nothing to see here, though. Mostly I enjoyed Hough's playing and the recorded piano sound.

A potential Britten-A-Thon was averted.

[Karl Henning]

C'mon, listen to Paul Bunyan:  you know you want to.

[snyprrr]

C'mon, listen to Paul Bunyan:  you know you want to.

"We're lumberjacks, lumberjacks..."

facepalm

NO!! Thank you, sir,... please!! 0:)

[Karl Henning]

Do you never check your bags? It's not as if you generally travel light.

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