Britten: A Ceremony of Carols & St Nicolas

Featuring

Katherine Watson
Zoë Brown
Sally Pryce
Stephen Layton
Luke McWatters
Allan Clayton

Catherine Edwards
Jonathan Higgins
The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge
The Holst Singers
City of London Sinfonia
Temple Church Choir
Benjamin Britten

Did you know?

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Composition History

The cantata "Saint Nicolas" was commissioned by Lancing College, where Peter Pears (the tenor soloist) had been a schoolboy in the 1920s, to celebrate the College's centenary.

Performer Biography

Stephen Layton, the conductor, is also the Musical Director of the Holst Singers and a Fellow and Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Critical Reception

Britten's "Saint Nicolas" was an instant public success, praised for its ability to unite amateur performers and audiences in a coherent musical-dramatic experience.

Composition History

Britten began composing "Saint Nicolas" before Christmas 1947, finding the mix of subtlety and simplicity challenging but interesting.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Saint Nicolas, the patron saint of children and mariners, was a subject very close to Britten's heart, making his enthusiasm for the project inevitable.

Composition History

Britten wrote "A Ceremony of Carols" from memory on a transatlantic voyage after customs officials confiscated his manuscripts, including sketches for a Clarinet Concerto.

Composition History

Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols" was initially conceived for a female choir, but by September 1942, he referred to it as being for "children's voices."