Three Orchestrated Song Cycles

 

In classic performances from tenor Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten himself.

Of course, Pears performed these decades earlier in mono, I think in the 40s, but these stereo ones from the 60s are easier on my ears.

The stereo sound benefits Barry Tuckwell most in the Serenade, for we can hear his throw-caution-to-the-wind approach on the horn. When adding more instruments to the Nocturne and Illuminations, the improvement in sonics multiplies in comparison.

Well, if wanting to get to know these songs, where better than to start than with Pears singing and Britten at the podium.

A review from 2019

Benjamin Britten’s three orchestrated song cycles, while modern of sound as Britten was apt to be, are far from unapproachable. Each song cycle, Serenade, Nocturne, and Les Illumination exhibit remarkable diversity from movement to movement and song to song, the music never seems to be doing the same thing for very long, one of the reasons I think these works never outstay their welcome and remain a refreshing listening program. And despite some of the heavy-hitting poetry that is set to music here, Britten is never afraid to lighten the mood or inject humour when needed. Britten’s settings of text to voice does not have a Baroque quality, there aren’t any long, protracted melismatic settings of words, nor are there oft-returning important words or phrases that Britten highlights in the music, instead staying true to the written poetry in what is essentially straight-forward, syllabic presentations of the texts, but set in Britten’s unique musical world.

One of the inescapable truths of this recording is that Britten himself is at the podium here, and as it is with Leonard Bernstein’s recordings of his own compositions, you get a sense here that this is exactly how the orchestral voices are supposed to sound. Britten is unusually characterful with his orchestral leading, outdoing his 40’s premier recording now on Eloquence, successfully contrasting the stark, haunting, lean string settings, with the more robust, perky, colourful sounds, against the dramatic, sometimes heroic musical settings. It also helps that this 1960’s Decca recording, duly remastered, sounds so good; there is dimensionality to the performers, including the London Symphony and English Chamber Orchestras, the headliner soloists, and the obbligato instruments of the nocturne, all of which are quite present. There is no congestion in the sound in the least, a firm bass line, and an overall clear presentation that exceeds my expectations.

Of course, a song cycle is only as good as its solo performers, and here we get Britten collaborator Peter Pears, at the time of this recording, a tenor in his 50’s. Even as a younger performer, many have taken issue with Pears’ singular vocal quality, a tangy, fluting sound that Britten preferred in all of his tenor composing, so in the least, this recording shows Britten’s compositional intent, although I have never found Pears terribly off-putting. Even in his later career, though, Pears is unequalled in his ability to communicate, especially Britten’s unique settings of texts, without being fussy. Pears’ sound can be at once heroic and the next lithe, and while his technique is consistent across his range, you won’t get a wide range of contrasting colours or shading from his sound, Pears seems to contrast mostly through effort and textual inflection. In addition, Peter Pear’s French in Les Illumination might not be authoritatively Gallic, but it is effortlessly characterful and expressive along with the other works on this disc. Other reviewers here have extolled the throw-caution-to-the-wind horn playing of Barry Tuckwell as the true successor of the original hornist Dennis Brain, and Tuckwell, along with the parade of Nocturne soloists, are caught quite well on record.

As far as recorded competitors, most tenors have lain too close to Pears’ performance to justify buying another recording, especially with the authority of having Britten at the helm in good sound. And despite fine singing by Bostridge on Warner and EMI, Rolfe-Johnson on Chandos, and Padmore on Harmonic Mundi (among others), who may have more appealing tenor timbres to some listeners, the orchestral leading on those recordings can be too heedful or the horn too mindful in comparison to what is presented here by Decca. I do like Jerry Hadley’s presentation of these works on Nimbus for his opposite approach to these works, truly setting himself apart from Pears and Britten with a muscular, raucous interpretation as a recorded companion to Pears’ flowery musical weavings, although Hadley lacks English credentials outside of Boughton and the English Chamber Orchestra.

Irregardless, Decca’s excellent recorded sound, Britten’s authoritative and characterful orchestral leading, and Peter Pears’ effervescent musical stylings make this recording an easy first choice, even over their original recording from the 40’s, especially for Barry Tuckwell’s abandon on horn.

 

 

 

 

Works
Serenade, op. 31 (24.05)
Les Illuminations, op. 18 (22.07)
Nocturne, op. 60 (16.59)

Soloists
Peter Pears, tenor
Barry Tuckwell, horn
Osian Ellis, harp

Performers
English Chamber Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
Benjamin Britten, conductor

Label: Decca
Year: 1960-67; 1993
Total Timing: 72.47

 

 

 

 

A classic account of Britten's orchestrated song cycles, hardly bettered elsewhere.

Some take issues with Peter Pears singular singing tone, but it is heard as Britten intended, although the tenor is a bit older than his earlier performance.

Of course, for a wholly different approach, I would recommend Jerry Hadley.