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King Arthur (Brass Band Score and Parts)

King Arthur was the first of 28 scores Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed for radio between 1937 and 1947. It was an ambitious dramatisation of King Arthur's life and times -…

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Owen Wingrave

Vocal Score (Eng/Ger)

A committed pacifist born into a renowned military family is met with a torrent of disapproval over his beliefs yet desperate to keep the love of his…

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On Receiving the First Aspen Award

A confession of faith from a great musician which should awake a response in the hearts of the rest of us, whether we are musicians or not, and whether we…

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A Boy Was Born (SATB/Organ Accompaniment)

(Music Sales America). 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…

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2 Psalms: SATB and Piano

(Choral). These two previously-unpublished Psalm settings were written while Benjamin Britten was studying at the Royal College of Music in London but, despite encouragement from Ireland, Vaughan Williams and Howells…

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The Company Of Heaven

A dramatic work of considerable substance, from which individual movements may be performed separately as anthems or concert works. The work sets a variety of texts from authors as varied…

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The Operas of Benjamin Britten: Expression and Evasion

Claire Seymour

This controversial analysis of Britten’s operatic works demonstrates how he used music to explore his most private concerns.

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The Purcell Collection - Realizations by Benjamin Britten

Most of the distinctive Purcell realizations by Benjamin Britten, vocal parts edited by Peter Pears, have been out of print for sone years. This new edition collects 49 selections for…

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Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century

Paul Kildea

Presents an account of Britten’s life, exploring his deeply held and controversial pacifism; his complex forty-year relationship with Peter Pears; and his creation of an artistic community in Aldeburgh. This…

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Benjamin Britten Entre Deux Mondes

Maena Py

The post-war was a transitional period in the history of opera both in terms of stage practice and of musical language. It was here that Benjamin Britten revealed himself to…

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Britten, Voice & Piano: Lectures on the Vocal Music of Benjamin Britten

Graham Johnson

This collection of eight lectures by pianist, Graham Johnson, is based on a series of concert talks given at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as part of the…

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Britten, Voice & Piano: Lectures on the Vocal Music of Benjamin Britten

Graham Johnson

This collection of eight lectures by pianist, Graham Johnson, is based on a series of concert talks given at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as part of the…

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Literary Britten: Words and Music in Benjamin Britten’s Vocal Works

Britten is the most literary British composer of the twentieth century. His relationship to the many and varied texts that he set was deeply committed and sensitive. As a result…

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Britten and the Far East: Asian Influences in the Music of Benjamin Britten

Mervyn Cooke

Investigation into the influence of Eastern music on Britten’s composition.

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Benjamin Britten & Samuel Barber: Their Lives and Their Music

Daniel Felsenfeld

Benjamin Britten was an English composer, whose works include Peter Grimes , Billy Budd , and more, while Samuel Barber was American composer, whose works include Adagio for Strings…

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Benjamin Britten Studies: Essays on An Inexplicit Art

Bringing together established authorities and new voices, this book takes off the ‘protective arm’ around Britten.

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Benjamin Britten and Montagu Slater’s Peter Grimes

Sam Kinchin-Smith

Sam Kinchin-Smith uses the Fourth Wall series’ bracing focus on ‘modern theatre’ to question whether this cornerstone of the operatic repertoire might also be thought of as a theatre text.

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Benjamin Britten and Montagu Slater’s Peter Grimes

Sam Kinchin-Smith

Sam Kinchin-Smith uses the Fourth Wall series’ bracing focus on ‘modern theatre’ to question whether this cornerstone of the operatic repertoire might also be thought of as a theatre text.

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Benjamin Britten als Friedenskomponist; Perspektiven zur Musikvermittlung

Sarah-Lisa Beier

Benjamin Brittens pazifistische Grundhaltung zeigt sich in vielen Werken seines OEuvres. Doch wollte er das Publikum auch bilden? Wie offenbart sich dieser Impetus in seiner Musik? Die Autorin legt Brittens…

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Benjamin Britten: New Perspectives on His Life and Work

An essay collection which examines Britten’s juvenilia, influences such as Shostakovich and Verdi, his opera Owen Wingrave and a libretto written by Australian novelist Patrick White with the hope of…

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Journeying Boy: The Diaries of the Young Benjamin Britten 1928-1938

Dr John Evans (President & Executive Director, Oregon Bach Festival)

Best remembered for his operas and his War Requiem, Benjamin Britten’s radical politics and his sexuality have also ensured that he remains a controversial public figure. This title presents a…

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My Beloved Man: The Letters of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears

Michael Middeke

‘It’s a life of the two of us.’ The complete surviving correspondence between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Benjamin Britten

This newly commissioned opera guide contains a thematic guide, and an up-to-date bibliography, select discography and website guide.

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Curlew River

Rehearsal score (Eng/Ger)

Inspired by a performance of the 15th century Noh-play, The Sumida River, Britten presents this Parable in the form of a medieval religious drama with plainsong taking…

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The Prodigal Son

Rehearsal Score (Eng/Ger)

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…

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The Prodigal Son

Libretto

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…

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Owen Wingrave

Libretto (English) to Owen Wingrave.

A committed pacifist born into a renowned military family is met with a torrent of disapproval over his beliefs yet desperate to keep the love…

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Overture: Paul Bunyan

Drafted (as a piano duet) in March 1941 for, but not used at, the first production of Paul Bunyan; it was not re-instated in the revival, for which a new…

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The Burning Fiery Furnace

Full Score

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…

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The Prodigal Son

Full Score

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…

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Curlew River

Full Score (paper)

Inspired by a performance of the 15th century Noh-play, The Sumida River, Britten presents this Parable in the form of a medieval religious drama with plainsong taking…

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Let The Dreadful Engines of Eternal Will

Benjamin Britten’s performances and realisations of the songs and other music by Henry Purcell extended over at least thirty years, from the early nineteen forties onwards. In Purcell he found…

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Death in Venice

Libretto

Britten’s last opera is based on the short story by Thomas Mann. It follows the inner turmoil of the ageing novelist Gustav von Aschenbach, who becomes infaturated by a…

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Temporal Variations

In 1935 Britten hinted that a large and elaborate suite for oboe and strings was gestating in his mind. However, this work did not materialize and instead he wrote the…

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Lachrymae Op.48

(Boosey & Hawkes Chamber Music). Viola part edited by William Primrose, the person for whom this piece was written.

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Cover image for Benjamin Britten's 'Holy Theatre' From Opera-Oratorio To Theatre-Parable

Benjamin Britten’s ‘Holy Theatre’ From Opera-Oratorio To Theatre-Parable

Barbara A Diana

Diana explores those who influenced Britten’s creative choices, mainly examining the composer’s own writings, from his early involvement with left-wing activism during the 1930s through to his more spiritually oriented…

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Benjamin Britten’s ‘Holy Theatre’ From Opera-Oratorio To Theatre-Parable

Barbara A Diana

Diana explores those who influenced Britten’s creative choices, mainly examining the composer’s own writings, from his early involvement with left-wing activism during the 1930s through to his more spiritually oriented…

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Miscellany Of Songs

This volume brings together five previously unpublished realisations of vocal music by Purcell. Britten prepared each piece with specific singers in mind. The realisation of the figured bass is highly…

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Five Spiritual Songs

Titles: Consider Then, My Soul Unwary * Come, Celebrate This Morn * Dearest Lord Jesus * Come, Soothing Death * If Thou Art Near.

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Paul Bunyan

Libretto for the operetta Paul Bunyan, the story of the American folk hero follows the development of the American continent from virgin forest to civilization. It does so in a…

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Hymn to St Cecilia - Ssatb Unaccompanied

W. H. Auden

(BH Large Choral). for unaccompanied SSATB with SSATB solos also version for solo voices Text: W.H.Auden Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes Difficulty level: 4 This work had a long gestation as…

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Letters from a Life: The Selected Letters of Benjamin Britten, Volume Three, 1946-1951

Benjamin Britten

The third volume of the letters of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), one of the great composers of the 20th century, with thorough annotations and a substantial biogrphical essay.

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Cover image for Letters from a Life Vol 1: 1923-39: Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten

Letters from a Life Vol 1: 1923-39: Selected Letters and Diaries of Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten

Volume One of these remarkable letters and diaries opens with a letter from Britten aged nine to his formidable mother, Edith.

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