Benjamin Britten

These two pieces were written by Britten in 1935 for the oboist Sylvia Spencer, who had played in early performances of his Phantasy Quartet, Op.2. The first performances of The Grasshopper and The Wa...

A lively setting using the popular I Saw Three Ships text. The choral writing depicts the fresh bracing sonorities of bells.

Anthem for unaccompanied SATB choir from Britten's dramatic cantata The Company of Heaven.

A perfect example of the young Britten's masterful vocal writing in a Christmas choral suite destined to become a major repertoire work. Includes Christ's Nativity, Sweet was the Song, Preparations, N...

Choral Variations for unaccompanied* SATB with boys' voices Texts:Theme A Boy was Born Anon. 16th century Variation 1 Lullay, Jesu Anon. before 1536 Variation 2 Herod Anon. before 1529 Variation 3 Jes...

Choral Variations for unaccompanied SATB with boys' voices. The extent of Britten's early genius can, to some extent, be measured by thiswork. Written while a student at the Royal College of Music age...

for SATB unaccompanied (including SATB solos) Text: W. H. Auden Publisher: Novello (published in Sing Nowell carol collection) Difficulty level: 1 While Britten and Auden were living in the United Sta...

The songs are tender, touching, beguilingly beautiful. John van Rhein, Chicago Tribune, 20 May 1983, Klavierauszug, Original für High Voice and Small Orchestra, Instrumentation: 2.1.2.bcl.2 - 4000 - p...

Vocal score to Benjamin Britten's The Golden Vanity for accompanied boy's voices.Instrumentation: 3 treble, 2 alto soloists, treble/alto chorus - pno - drum

Curlew River - A Parable for Church Performance (Op. 71) is the first of three Church Parables by Benjamin Britten. The work is based on the Japanese Noh play Sumidagawa (Sumida River) of Juro Motomas...

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...

A ballad for children's voices and (largely) percussion orchestra setting a long narrative poem by Bertolt Brecht, telling the tragic story of a band of orphaned children lost in the snowy wastes of w...

Scored for solo voice, unison chorus and piano, The Twelve Apostles was written for Peter Pears and the London Boy Singers. The text was adopted from The Ten Commandments as given in 'English Folk Son...

Curlew River - A Parable for Church Performance (Op. 71) is the first of three Church Parables by Benjamin Britten. The work is based on the Japanese Noh play Sumidagawa (Sumida River) of Juro Motomas...

These Christmas carols have become contemporary classics. 'The serene Sweet was the Song' contrasts with a moving lament on the hardships of Christmas, 'A Wealdon Trio', and a memorable setting of Har...

Britten's last completed work, written for young people's chorus and orchestra, is in five short sections: March, Roundel and Canon for orchestra and choir, and Jig and Modulation for orchestra alone.

Britten's setting of Edith Sitwell's poem 'Praise We Great Men', was left unfinished at his death. It was being written for Mstislav Rostrpovich to include in his first season with the National Sympho...