I heard some of the finest choral singing from Schola last night, under Jamie Burton's direction, in the Brittrn's Endgame film on BBC4. There were only snippets of course, but they included, apart frpm the inevitable Hymn to the Virgin, quite a chunk of AMDG, a difficult and brilliant piece which is not so often heard. Even if not a Britten fan (which I am), it's worth skipping throughto pick out the choral bits. It's on i-player. Discussion about the Bridcut film is in the Briiten on BBC4 thread under Talking about Music.
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They were very impressive indeed. I'd seen a preview and wondered who on earth they were - so very young, but so perfect. They even managed that difficult piece about old age from Sacred and Profane, written for Peter Pears's Wilbye Consort in 1974-5. I don't think the commentary mentioned that it was in 13th century English. It wasn't that there was something wrong with their diction. -
Agreed. Fantastic singing in a brilliant programme. BUT the credits whizzed by so quickly, I have no idea who sang the solos with the Schola.Comment
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Has anyone got a link to the words - not the translation they gave in the subtitles? I'd like to have them for when I watch it again.Originally posted by Mary Chambers View Post
Wonderful film.Comment
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As usual with these things, I Sky-plussed and then rewound to have the chance to read the credits. I'm not sure the soloists were named.Originally posted by DracoM View PostComment
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Clever! I couldn't find it online, though I have it in the book Benjamin Britten's Poets. It's the one called 'A Death'.Originally posted by bach736 View PostComment
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Mary, back in the 60s, when Britten was very much alive (we lived among giants in those days) our university lectureres tended to disparage some of Britten's choices of texts and librettists for his operatic works (barring MND of course). They felt, and I can sometimes see what they mean, that the words aren't as great as the music deserves. Do you have views on this?Comment
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The librettos/libretti (either will do!) vary hugely, from the overly verbose and self-consciously poetic words of Ronald Duncan in The Rape of Lucretia to the spare, deceptively simple texts devised by Myfanwy Piper, plus Eric Crozier's conversational style in Albert Herring and William Plomer's 'Elizabethan' words for Gloriana. Not to mention Montague Slater's Peter Grimes - considerably altered by Britten and Ronald Duncan, to Slater's annoyance, one gathers, and E.M. Forster's Billy Budd.Originally posted by ardcarp View Post
I feel Myfanwy Piper's libretto for Turn of the Screw is very good, and also her Death in Venice. It would be impossible to sing anything like the complex prose of Henry James or Thomas Mann, and I think she did a good job of condensing and clarifying their meaning, and making them singable. Great literature doesn't make for a good libretto in itself, and very complex words simply don't work in opera - though Britten could make a better case than most for any texts.
In songs I think it's different - great poetry does work if the setting is sensitive enough to the words.Comment
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Thanks Mary.
I was lucky enough to see Britten conduct (and do the piano recit in) The Rape. I think I was too overawed by the occasion to bother about the words!the overly verbose and self-consciously poetic words of Ronald Duncan in The Rape of LucretiaComment
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