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Product details
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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 |
|---|
| 1. Canticle II - Abraham & Issac |
| 2. Gemini variations, Op. 73 |
| 3. A birthday Hansel, Op. 92 (Canticle) |
| 4. Cantata academica (Carmen Basiliense), Op. 62 |
| 5. Russian funeral |
| Disc: 2 |
| 1. Cantata misericordium, Op. 69 |
| 2. Children's crusade, Op. 82 |
| 3. The poet's echo, Op. 76 |
| 4. Six holderlin fragments, Op. 61 |
| 5. Two insect pieces (1935) |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Britten devotees will want to snap up this mid-priced, two-disc set from Decca without further ado, containing as it does a first release for a riveting account of Abraham and Isaac featuring Peter Pears, Britten and contralto Norma Procter (the mono master-tape from March 1957 only resurfaced in 1999). It's a stunningly eloquent display in every way and an indispensable addition to the Britten discography. Other highlights include vintage, irreproachably idiomatic renderings of the Cantata academica and Cantata misericordium (both set down in the early 1960s and still sounding remarkably fresh); Pears and Britten at the their most inspirationally recreative in the Six Holderlin Fragments; and a gripping realisation of that gritty Brecht setting Children's Crusade (completed in 1969 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Save the Children Fund). Elsewhere, harpist Osian Ellis generates a really fine rapport with Pears in the Burns cycle A Birthday Hansel (a charming late work from 1975), and there are plenty more intriguing rarities to savour. A fascinating compendium overall, but what a shame that, Abraham and Isaac apart, neither texts nor translations are provided in the booklet.--Andrew Achenbach
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unpublished 1st Performance is the best,
By
This review is from: Benjamin Britten: The Rarities (Audio CD)
The real treasure on this 2CD collection is undoubtedly the first recorded performance of the canticle, Abraham & Isaac. The reason it was unpublished does not reflect too well on the composer. Having written the piece for Kathleen Ferrier (ah, now, if only she had recorded it!), her tragically early death meant that Britten and Pears had to search out an alternative. Their choice lighted on Norma Procter and she gives a truly inspired performance partnering Pears, scaling down her voice to suit the young boy, yet singing with heart-breaking intensity. Sadly Britten's eye then lighted on a delectable young choirboy with whom he and Pears subsequently recorded the piece, only informing Procter after the event. One can imagine her disappointment. As she said on rehearing it, "I never thought it possible to hear this forbidden recording after 44 years - this side the tomb - and as I listened unbelieving - it was too much emotionally - the tears streamed down my face." And not just hers.The other recordings on the discs are less unfamiliar, though none is performed often. Why? The Cantata Academica is a charmer and great fun, despite a rather arch Latin text. Try Jennifer Vyvyan soaring a high descant over the male voices humming an old student song. The Russian, German and Scottish song cycles are all worthy of their poets and more. The Cantata Misericordium is another rarely performed piece with many an echo of its almost contemporaneous War Requiem. Special effects (e.g. the barking dog) actually enhance the seriousness of the much underrated Children's Crusade, the harrowing Brechtian tale of refugee children in wartime Poland. And none of the more incidental pieces outstay their welcome.
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