This is not intended to be a complete list, but is an attempt to
cover all significant recordings of the digital era and re-releases
from LP and video. It represents an updated, extended and reformatted
version of a list published on Musicweb by Rob Barnett in 1998. The
ubiquity
of re-releases, and the lack of information about recording dates
makes it impossible to keep track of which recording has been released
before. Transient availability is also a plague - Amazon tends to
show most of that has been released, and implies that it may still
be available even if it has been deleted from the company's catalogue
long ago.
So we have done our best. Perhaps not all re-releases are covered,
and in some instances, a reader may know that what is described as
a re-release is in fact a different performance. Apologies in advance!
Certainly sampler discs and themed releases (eg Christmas, Best of
English Music) "best of"s do not feature on this discography
unless the recording is not available on another disc.
The list has been updated by reference to a number of online sources
including:
- review sites (Musicweb, Classics Today, Gramofile, Fanfare)
- selected commerical mail-order companies (Amazon UK, AmazonUS,
Crotchet, ArkivMusic)
- major recording label sites (Naxos, Hyperion, Chandos)
DVDs releases are designated with a
and
SACDs with
.
Entries not marked are CDs.
Regarding Collins Classics recordings
The Collins Classics label closed a few years ago, taking
with it a significant set of recordings of Britten and other British
composers. Since then, the rights to some of the Collins' catalogue
have been acquired by Naxos and Harry Christopher's own label Coro
(for The Sixteen's recordings). Gradually these labels are re-releasing
the Collins recordings.
Portraits courtesy of the Britten-Pears Library and Edward Morgan.