Britten: Sacred & Profane; A.M.D.G; 5 Flower Songs; Choral Dances from Gloriana etc.

Featuring

Stephen Layton
Polyphony
Benjamin Britten

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Composition History

The text for one of Britten's Five Flower Songs, 'Marsh flowers', held special appeal for the composer as it was George Crabbe's poetry that inspired Britten to return to Suffolk from the USA to compose his opera Peter Grimes.

Composition History

Britten's Five Flower Songs were a silver-wedding present for Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst, who owned Dartington Hall where the songs were privately premiered.

Critical Reception

Britten's opera Gloriana, composed for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, was harshly criticized by the national press and only entered the mainstream repertoire many years after his death.

Composition History

Britten's A.M.D.G., a setting of seven poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins, was sketched in 1939 but never performed during the composer's lifetime and was only published in 1989.

Composer Biography

Britten composed A Hymn to the Virgin for double choir at the age of sixteen while confined to the sick-bay at Gresham's School, Holt.

Compositional Technique

Sacred and Profane is not a conventional song-cycle; Britten's main concern was to juxtapose secular and sacred themes, typical of the medieval period.

Composition History

Sacred and Profane, a collection of eight medieval lyrics, was Britten's last choral work for professionals, written in 1974/75 for Peter Pears's Wilbye Consort.