Benjamin Britten had
a love for working with amateur musicians.
He was remarkably adept at writing music
for them that is always accessible,
but never condescending. An exemplary
case in point is the cantata St.
Nicolas, which was commissioned
by Peter Pears’ old school, Lancing
College. There are five parts that require
the skills of a professional musician,
with the remainder easily handled by
less-experienced performers. As there
is little actual information about the
life of the fourth century saint, librettist
Eric Crozier based his tale on many
of the legends that surround him to
build a portrait.
One of the inherent
problems in recording the works of Britten
is that the composer himself recorded
or supervised recordings of practically
his entire output. And along with the
composer came his hand-picked performers,
with all of their quirks and foibles.
Valuable as these often marvelous performances
are, we can be grateful for the passage
of enough time to allow for new interpretations
of Britten’s music, and for the chance
for a new generation of performers to
try their hand at parts written especially
for specific singers. It is particularly
pleasant to hear someone other than
Peter Pears singing the role of Nicolas.
While Pears was a singer of unique gifts
and exemplary musicianship, one still
must deal with the unusual and often
unpleasant timbre of his voice. I confess
that Pears’ singing is an acquired taste,
which I long ago acquired. It is, nonetheless,
high time for new blood, and Philip
Langridge rises comfortably to the occasion.
Although the influence
of Pears is evident in Mr. Langridge’s
singing, his is an instrument with a
more accurate pitch center, and a more
focused core. Agile and lyrical, his
singing is also pointed and dramatic,
and it is clear that he is sympathetic
to the holy character of Nicolas. He
negotiates the sometimes-jagged vocal
lines with ease, and makes tuneful even
the most disjunctive lines.
Steuart Bedford, Britten’s
musical heir and current artistic director
of the Aldeburgh festival, made a number
of outstanding recordings of Britten
works on the now defunct Collins label,
including this one. Fortunately, Naxos
seem to have purchased the Britten part
of the Collins catalogue, and are bringing
the recordings out under their own banner
and at their exceptional price. Mr.
Bedford is an able conductor, with a
fine sense of dramatic pacing. The Tallis
Chamber Choir sings with gusto and enthusiasm,
and with excellent balance, intonation
and blend. Of particular merit is the
loving rendition of the Piety and
Marvelous Works of Nicolas (movement
8), which is delivered with remarkable
beauty and sincerity.
Christ’s Nativity
was composed in 1931 while Britten was
still a student at the Royal Conservatory
of Music. Except for two excerpts, the
work remained unpublished and unperformed
during the composer’s lifetime. A forerunner
of his early masterpiece A Boy was
Born, the work was probably inspired
by a volume of Christmas Carols that
Britten received as a gift from his
sister Barbara. Its construct as a sequence
of texts bound together by a common
theme was to become a frequent device
for Britten in later years as exemplified
in the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and
Strings, The Spring Symphony
and Nocturne,
I have often railed
against the idea of insisting that every
note that a famous composer penned be
published and performed. It stands to
reason that as fine a composer as Britten
must have been a good judge of the quality
of his own work, and this, along with
A.M.D.G. and a recently published early
Jubilate Deo clearly show that
the composer knew what he was doing
when he shelved the scores. Although
they are atmospheric to a point, the
text underlay, the extremes of range
and the lack of clarity in the text
settings are serious detractions to
these pieces. The BBC Singers do an
admirable job in their attempt to breathe
life into these carols, but one hearing
demonstrates the obvious difficulties
and challenges in the music itself;
difficulties and challenges that bear
no ultimate reward. There are certainly
enough choral masterworks by Britten
to make me question the necessity of
trotting out works that the composer
himself rejected.
True to his motto to
be useful and for the present, Psalm
150, written for the centenary of
Britten’s own preparatory school in
Lowestoft, is scored for whatever treble
and bass instruments may be available
with piano and percussion. Obviously
an occasional piece, one might suspect
that it is more fun to play and sing
than to hear. Nonetheless, it has a
certain joie de vivre about it,
and it is brief enough not to be too
offensive.
Lloyd Moore provides
concise and informative program notes,
and the sound quality is up to the standard
that was Collins Classics. Kudos goes
to Naxos for making this catalogue available.
It is a bit of a shame however that
some rather inferior companion material
mires the fine reading of St. Nicolas.
Kevin Sutton
The Tallis Chamber Choir, The English Chamber
Orchestra (St. Nicolas) The BBC Singers (Christ’s
Nativity); The New London Children’s Choir, London
Schools Symphony Orchestra (Psalm 150). Steuart
Bedford, conductor. 