It is of course the case with more composers that their private lives had an influence on the composition of their oeuvre, but with the Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) this influence was very great. What would his oeuvre have been like if the excellent tenor Peter Pears had not been his partner; how many of the works included here would ever have come about? To ask the question is to answer it, because
… this CD presents three beautiful song cycles for tenor and (string) orchestra, two of which Britten wrote especially for Pears. The exception is the first of these: "Les illuminations op.18" for tenor and string orchestra from 1939, based on text from Rimbaud's series of poems of the same name, was written for the soprano Sophie Wyss, who also premiered it. Britten, however, emphatically pointed out that the vocal part was also suitable for a tenor voice. Of the works included here, this is the most varied cycle, perhaps for that reason also the most popular. The other two cycles are more subdued. The "Serenade for tenor, horn and strings op.31" dates from 1943. In this work, the horn sometimes seems to form a duet with the tenor as a kind of second voice; in the "Hymn" dealing with hunting, however, Britten gives the horn every chance to shine. The CD concludes with the "Nocturne for tenor, seven instruments and strings op.60", perhaps the darkest of the three. Adrian Thompson (tenor), Michael Thompson (horn) and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta give good performances under conductor David Lloyd-Jones. (JvG) _ Of the works included here, this is the most varied cycle, perhaps for that reason also the most popular. The other two cycles are more subdued. The "Serenade for tenor, horn and strings op.31" dates from 1943. In this work, the horn sometimes seems to form a duet with the tenor as a kind of second voice; in the "Hymn" dealing with hunting, however, Britten gives the horn every chance to shine. The CD concludes with the "Nocturne for tenor, seven instruments and strings op.60", perhaps the darkest of the three. Adrian Thompson (tenor), Michael Thompson (horn) and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta give good performances under conductor David Lloyd-Jones. (JvG) _ Of the works included here, this is the most varied cycle, perhaps for that reason also the most popular. The other two cycles are more subdued. The "Serenade for tenor, horn and strings op.31" dates from 1943. In this work, the horn sometimes seems to form a duet with the tenor as a kind of second voice; in the "Hymn" dealing with hunting, however, Britten gives the horn every chance to shine. The CD concludes with the "Nocturne for tenor, seven instruments and strings op.60", perhaps the darkest of the three. Adrian Thompson (tenor), Michael Thompson (horn) and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta give good performances under conductor David Lloyd-Jones. (JvG) _ The "Serenade for tenor, horn and strings op.31" dates from 1943. In this work, the horn sometimes seems to form a duet with the tenor as a kind of second voice; in the "Hymn" dealing with hunting, however, Britten gives the horn every chance to shine. The CD concludes with the "Nocturne for tenor, seven instruments and strings op.60", perhaps the darkest of the three. Adrian Thompson (tenor), Michael Thompson (horn) and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta give good performances under conductor David Lloyd-Jones. (JvG) _ The "Serenade for tenor, horn and strings op.31" dates from 1943. In this work, the horn sometimes seems to form a duet with the tenor as a kind of second voice; in the "Hymn" dealing with hunting, however, Britten gives the horn every chance to shine. The CD concludes with the "Nocturne for tenor, seven instruments and strings op.60", perhaps the darkest of the three. Adrian Thompson (tenor), Michael Thompson (horn) and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta give good performances under conductor David Lloyd-Jones. (JvG) _more