Composer: Benjamin Britten
Performer: Elizabeth Watts, Alice Coote, Allan Clayton
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: LSO Live
Catalogue: LSO0830
Release: 2024
Size: 1.26 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20
01. I. Lacrymosa. Andante ben misurato
02. II. Dies irae. Allegro con fuoco – Alla marcia
03. III. Requiem aeternam. Andante molto tranquillo
Spring Symphony, Op. 44
Part I
04. Introduction. Shine out (chorus)
05. The Merry Cuckoo (Tenor)
06. Spring, the Sweet Spring (soprano, alto, tenor, chorus)
07. The Driving Boy (soprano, children’s chorus)
08. The Morning Star (Chorus)
Part II
09. Welcome, Maids of Honour (alto)
10. Waters Above (Tenor)
11. Out on the Lawn I lie in Bed (alto, chorus)
Part III
12. When will my May come (Tenor)
13. Fair and Fair (Soprano, Tenor)
14. Sound the Flute (chorus, children’s chorus)
Part IV
15. Finale. London, to Thee I do Present (soprano, alto, tenor, chorus, children’s chorus)
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34
16. I. Theme. Allegro maestoso e largamente
17. II. Variations A-D, Woodwinds. Presto – Lento – Moderato – Allegro alla marcia
18. III. Variations E-H, Strings. Brillante, alla polacca – Meno mosso – Cominciando lento ma poco a poco accelerando
19. IV. Variation I, Harp. Maestoso
20. V. Variations J-L, Brass. L’istesso tempo – Vivace – Allegro pomposo
21. VI. Variation M, Percussion. Moderato
22. VII. Fugue. Allegro molto – Animato
Celebrating the work of Benjamin Britten, this album combines three of the composer’s enduringly popular, yet vastly distinctive works. Sir Simon Rattle leads us on an unexpected journey through this diverse collection of masterpieces.
Written shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Sinfonia da Requiem meditates in part on the political populism which had, for the second time in just a few decades, plunged the world in to an existential crisis. In this piece, Britten’s rich, yearning harmonies reveal a sombre and dramatic warning of the cost of conflict.
From the darkness of war, we move towards the light with Britten’s choral Spring Symphony. With its mysterious reimagining of traditional English folk song and verse, the work depicts the gradual reawakening of the natural world when winter ebbs away, and spring begins to triumph.
Britten let his imagination catch fire in The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. This brilliantly original showpiece is one of the composer’s best-known pieces, and draws the album to a close.