Benjamin Britten

Britten's last opera, Death In Venice , is based on the short story by Thomas Mann. It follows the inner turmoil of the ageing novelist Gustav von Aschenbach, who becomes infatuated by a boy he sees o...

This work was composed for the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations and requires a large adult chorus of men and women, and a smaller children's choir placed separately with its own conductor a...

Britten's Chorale is a setting of a French carol dating probably from the 17th century, entitled Romancero, although more commonly known as Picardy.

Britten's The World of the Spirit was written for BBC Radio in 1938, his second collaboration with R. Ellis Roberts. The wide-ranging texts from religious books, poetry, and newspaper articles about t...

This work was originally written in 1964 for two 12 year old twin brothers whom Britten met whilst working in Budapest. Each twin played the piano, and one the flute and the other the violin. A second...

The incidental music to the BBC radio serialization of T.H. White's book was composed in May 1939, soon after Britten's arrival in Canada, and was broadcast in six episodes during June and Jul...

This previously unpublished trio was written in late 1929, after Britten composed the Rhapsody For String Quartet (March 1929). The new publication will be edited by David Matthews , who spent 3 years...

For Violin, Viola and Piano (Reduced from the orchestra version). Britten was so remarkably prolific as a young composer that many of the works from his teens were put aside to await revision or compl...

Written as a ballet for small orchestra. This work lasts c. 25 minutes and was first performed on 25/1/2004 at the Royal College of Music, London by the Royal College of Music Sinfonietta, conducted b...

Burlesque (from 'Sonatina Romantica'), composed by Benjamin Britten and arranged by Paul Harris and Emma Johnson for clarinet with piano accompaniment.

A Simple and effective setting of a poem by Thomas Hardy, mostly in unison with some elementary two-part singing. Ideal for a school choir.

A committed pacifist born into a renowned military family is met with a torrent of disapproval over his beliefs yet desperate to keep the love of his would-be bride, Owen is determined to prove his in...

Drafted (as a piano duet) in March 1941 for, but not used at, the first production of Paul Bunyan; it was not re-instated in the revival, for which a new short introduction was composed. The work was...

Variations on a Christmas Carol (God rest ye merry, gentlemen) for orchestra. Composed for the BBC programme with the same title which wasbroadcast on Christmas Day 1947. The programme consisted of li...

Britten began composing his Quatre chansons francaises in June 1928 and had finished the full score by August of that year, before his 15th birthday. The songs reflect the impact of his lessons with F...

The story of the American folk hero follows the development of the American continent from virgin forest to civilization. It does so in a deliberately eclectic style. Spoken dialogue is interspersed w...

In this second Parable for church performance, Britten sustains the influence of the Noh tradition in Curlew River, while taking inspiration from the Biblical story Ananias, Azarias and Misael. It tel...

Of all the parables in the New Testament none has had quite such a universal and ever-renewed appeal as that of the Prodigal Son. With its unforgettable climax of reward and rejoicing being lavished n...

Commissioned by the BBC for broadcast at the opening concert of the Third Programme, the work was described in the Radio Times as Festival Overture . The work lasts 8 minutes.

In this second Parable for church performance, Britten sustains the influence of the Noh tradition in Curlew River, while taking inspiration from the Biblical story Ananias, Azarias and Misael. It tel...

Written during Britten’s years in the USA (1939-1942) this atmospheric processional languished unperformed in a New York library until its discovery in 1976, the year of the composer’s dea...

Summons to Venice - Overture to Venice - First Beach Scene - Sight of Tadzio - 'I Love You' - Pursuit - Second Beach Scene and Death, arranged and compiled by Steuart Bedford

. . .has an extraordinary bleakness, like cold stone in winter sunlight. The instruments, mainly strings and percussion, are systematically drained of color, yet the final moments offer some of the mo...