CATALOGUE OF B.

BRITTEN’s WORKS
 
See also: The Lieder of Benjamin Britten

 Stage Works
Opus - Title
Timon of Athens - Incidental music - 1935
Easter 1916 (Slater) - Incidental music - 1935
Stay Down Miner (Slater) - Incidental music - 1936
Agamemnon (trans. MacNeice) - Incidental music - 1936
The Ascent of F6 (Auden/Isherwood) - Incidental music - 1937
On the Frontier (Auden/Isherwood) - Incidental music - 1938
Johnson over Jordan (Priestley) - Incidental music - 1935; f.p. 1939 - New Theatre,
London
This Way to the Tomb - Incidental music – 1945

33 Peter Grimes Oper - Prolog and 3 Acts, op. 33 - Montagu Slater

7 Juny 1945 Sadler's Wells Opera London

37 The Rape of Lucretia

Kammeroper 2 Acts, op. 37
Ronald Duncan after Andrй Obey
12 July 1946 Glyndebourne

Oh/OP Albert Herring

Komische Oper (Kammeroper) in 3 Acts (5 Bildern)
Eric Crozier, after Guy de Maupassant
20 Juny 1947 Festspiele Glyndebourne
43 - The Beggar's Opera (after John Gay) - Ballad Opera - 1948
45 - The Little Sweep - Opera - 1949
50 - Billy Budd - Opera - 1951 rev. 1960, f.p. 1951, Covent Garden (2 act version first
broadcast 1961 -BBC; f.p. 1964 - Covent Garden)
53 - Gloriana - Opera - 1953 - Opera - New York City Opera OperaPak; f.p. 1953 - Joan
Cross, Peter Pears, Monica Sinclair, Jennifer Vyvyan, Geraint Evans, Frederick
Dahlberg, Arnold Matters, Inia Te Wiata - Covent Garden
54 - The Turn of the Screw - Opera - 1954; f.p. 1954 - Peter Pears, Jennifer Vyvyan,
Joan Cross, Arda Mandikian, Olive Dyer, David Hemmings - La Fenice
57 - The Prince of the Pagodas - Ballet - 1956
59 - Noye's Fludde - Opera - 1957
64 - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Opera - 1960 ; f.p. 1960 - Alfred Deller, Jennifer
Vyvyan, Owen Brannigan, April Cantelo, Marjorie Thomas, Thomas Hemsley,
George Moran, Peter Pears - Aldeburgh
71 - Curlew River - Church parable - 1964; f.p. 1964 - English Opera Group - Oxford
Church
77 - The Burning Fiery Furnace - Church parable - 1966; f.p. 1966 - English Opera
Group - Oxford Church
81 - The Prodigal Son - Church parable - 1968; f.p. 1968 - English Opera Group - Oxford
Church
85 - Owen Wingrave - Opera - 1970; f.p. 1971 - B. Luxon, J. Shirley-Quirk, J. Baker, P.
 Pears, J. Vyvyan, N. Douglas, S. Fisher, H. Harper, Boys of the Wandsworth School
Choir, English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten - BBC2 Television
88 - Death in Venice - Opera - 1973; f.p. 1973 - Peter Pears, John Shirley Quirk, James
Bowman, English Opera Group, English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford -
Snape Maltings

Choral Works
Opus - Title
A Hymn to the Virgin - unacc. - 1930 rev. 1934
Christ's Nativity (The King's Birthday) 1931; f.p. 1991 - Britten Singers, Stephen
Wilkinson - Aldeburgh
Three Two-Part Songs - boys/female voices - 1932 - 1933 rev. 1955
3 - A Boy was Born - boys' voices, male voices, female voices (with organ ad lib)
Two Two - Part Songs - SATB, piano - 1933
7 - Friday Afternoons - children's voices, piano - 1935
May - unison voices, piano - 1934
Te Deum - Treble, SATB, org/str, harp/piano - 1934
Two Ballads- 2 voices, piano - 1937
Pacifist March - unison voices, accompaniment - 1937
Advance Democracy - SSAATTBB - 1938
14 - Ballad of Heroes - Tenor/Soprano, chorus, orchestra - 1939
A.M.D.G. - SATB - 1939; f.p. 1984 - London Sinfonietta Voices, Terry Edwards -
Purcell Room, London
17 - Hopkins settings - withdrawn
27 - Hymn to St. Cecilia - SSATB - 1942
28 - A Ceremony of Carols - Treble voices, harp - 1942
30 - Rejoice in the Lamb - Treble, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, SATB, organ - 1943
The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Bernard - male voices, piano - 1943
A Shepherd's Carol - SATB - 1944
Chorale after an Old French Carol - SATB - 1944; f.p. 1944 - BBC Singers, Leslie
Woodgate - BBC Radio
32 - Festival Te Deum - SATB, organ - 1945
Deus in adjutorum meum - 1945
Old Joe has Gone Fishing - SATB, piano
Song of the Fishermen - SATB, piano
42 - St. Nicolas - Tenor, SA, 4 Tr, SATB, strings, piano 4 hands, percussion, organ
-1948
44 - Spring Symphony - Soprano, Alto, Tenor, boys voices, mixed voices, orchestra
-1949
46 - A Wedding Anthem - Soprano, Tenor, SATB, organ - 1949
47 - Five Flower Songs - SATB - 1950
Choral Dances from Gloriana - unacc
56a - Hymn to St. Peter - Treble, SATB, organ - 1955
56b - Antiphon - SATB, organ - 1956
62 - Cantata academica - Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, chorus, orchestra - 1959
 63 - Missa brevis - boys' voices, organ - 1959
Jubilate Deo - SATB, organ - 1961
Fancie - unison voices, piano - 1961
66 - War Requiem - Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, boys' voices, mixed voices, orchestra,
chamber orchestra, organ - 1961
67 - Psalm CL - children's chorus 2 voices, instruments - 1962
A Hymn to St. Columba - SATB, organ - 1962
The Twelve Apostles - solo voice, unison chorus, piano - 1962; f.p. 1962 - Peter
Pears, London Boy Singers, Benjamin Britten - Aldeburgh
69 - Cantata misericordium - Tenor, Baritone, small chorus, string quartet, string
orchestra, piano, harp, timpani - 1963
75 - Voices for Today - boys' voices, double chorus, organ ad lib - 1965; f.p. 1965 -
London Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Choristers of Westminster Abbey,Ralph
Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sung - SSAA - 1931 (1966); f.p. 1966 - Purcell
Singers, Imogen Holst - Aldeburgh
78 - The Golden Vanity - boys' voices, piano - 1966; f.p. 1967 - Vienna Boys' Choir
-Aldeburgh, The Oxen - female chorus 2 voices, piano - 1967
The Sycamore Tree - SATB - 1930 (1967); f.p. 1968 - Ambrosian Singers, Philip
Ledger - Aldeburgh
A Wealden Trio - SSA - 1929 (1967); f.p. 1968 - Ambrosian Singers, Philip Ledger
- Aldeburgh
82 - Children's Crusade - children's voices, percussion, 2 pianos, organ - 1968; f.p.
1969 - Wandsworth School Boys' Choir, Russell Burgess - St. Paul's Cathedral
91 - Sacred and Profane - 5 voices - 1975; f.p. 1975 - Wilbye Consort of Voices, Peter
Pears - Snape Maltings
95 - Welcome Ode - young people's voices, orchestra - 1976; f.p. 1977 - Suffolk
Schools' Choir and Orchestra, Keith Shaw
Praise we great men - SATB, SATB, orchestra - 1976 (completed by Colin
Matthews 1985); f.p. 1985 - Marie McLaughlin, Heather Harper, Philip

Solo Vocal
 

Opus - Title

Beware! - voice, piano - 1925

Quatre Chansons Franзaises - High voice, orchestra - 1928; f.p. 1980 - Heather
Harper, English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford - Snape Maltings
The Birds - Mezzo/Baritone, piano - 1929 rev. 1934
The Ship of Rio - voice, piano - 1932 (1963)
A Poison Tree - Baritone, piano - 1935; f.p. 1986 - Henry Herford, Ian Brown -
Wigmore Hall
When you're feeling like expressing your affection - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1935/6;
f.p. 1992 Lucy Shelton, Ian Brown - Blythburgh Church
8 - Our Hunting Fathers - Soprano/Tenor, orchestra - 1936
Underneath the Abject Willow - Tenor, piano - 1936(?)
11 - On this Island - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1937
Cabaret Songs - High voice, piano - 1937
 Not even summer yet - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1937; f.p. 1937 - Nell Moody, Gordon
Thorne
To lie flat on the back with knees flexed - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1937
Night covers up the rigid land - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1937
Fish in the Unruffled Lakes - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1938
The Red Cockatoo - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1938; f.p. 1991 - Lucy Shelton, Ian
Brown - Snape Maltings
18 - Les illuminations - Soprano/Tenor, strings - 1939
22 - Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo - Tenor, piano - 1940
Underneath the Abject Willow - Soprano, Tenor, piano - 1941
Song, on the water ("Wild with passion") - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1942; f.p. 1992 -
Lucy Shelton, Ian Brown - Blythburgh Church
Dirge for Wolfram ("If thou wilt ease thy heart") - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1942; f.p.
1992 - Lucy Shelton, Ian Brown - Blythburgh Church
Cradle Song for Eleanor - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1942; f.p. 1992 - Lucy Shelton,
Ian Brown - Blythburgh Church
31 - Serenade - Tenor, horn and strings - 1943
Now sleeps the crimson petal - Tenor, horn and strings - 1943
Three Arias from Peter Grimes - Tenor, Soprano, piano/orchestra -
35 - The Holy Sonnets of John Donne - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1945
Birthday Song for Erwin - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1945; f.p. 1988 - Christopher
Hobkirk, Rosalind Jones - RCM
Three Arias from The Rape of Lucretia - Alto, Tenor, Mezzo, piano/orchestra -
40 - Canticle I "My beloved is mine" - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1947
41 - A Charm of Lullabies - Mezzo, piano - 1947
51 - Canticle II "Abraham and Isaac" - Alto, Tenor, piano - 1952
52 - Winter Words - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1953
If it's ever spring again - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1953
The children and Sir Nameless - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1953
55 - Canticle III "Still Falls the Rain" - Tenor, horn, piano - 1954
The Heart of the Matter - Narrator, tenor, horn, piano - 1956
58 - Songs from the Chinese - Soprano/Tenor, guitar - 1957
60 - Nocturne - Tenor, 7 obbligato instruments, string orchestra - 1958
61 - Sechs Hцlderin - Fragmente - voice, piano - 1958
Bottom's Dream from A Midsummer Night's Dream - Bass - Baritone,
piano/orchestra
Um Mitternacht - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1959/60; f.p. 1992 - Lucy Shelton, Ian
Brown - Blythburgh Church
- Songs and Proverbs of William Blake - Baritone, piano - 1965; f.p. 1965 - Dietrich
74
Fischer-Dieskau, Benjamin Britten - Aldeburgh
- The Poet's Echo - Soprano/Tenor, piano - 1965; f.p. 1965 - Galina Vishnevskaya,
76
Mstislav Rostropovich - Moscow
Tit for Tat - voice, piano - 1931 (1968); f.p. 1969 - John Shirley-Quirk, Benjamin
Britten - Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh
- Who are these Children? - Tenor, piano - 1969; f.p. 1971 - Peter Pears, Benjamin
84
Britten - National Gallery, Edinburgh
- Canticle IV "The Journey of the Magi" - Countertenor, Tenor, Baritone, piano - 1971;
86 f.p. 1971 - James Bowman, Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, Benjamin Britten -
Snape Maltings
- Canticle V "The Death of Narcissus" - Tenor, harp - 1974; f.p. 1975 - Peter Pears,
89
Osian Ellis - Schloss Elmau, Bavaria
 - A Birthday Hansel - High voice, harp - 1975; f.p. 1976 - Peter Pears, Osian Ellis -
92
Schloss Elmau, Bavaria
- Phaedra - Mezzo, strings, percussion, 'cello, harpsichord - 1975; f.p. 1976 - Janet
93
Baker, English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford - Snape Maltings
The Sun Shines Down - Tenor, piano - (?)
What's on your mind? - Tenor, piano - (?)

Music for the Radio

 

Opus - Title

The Company of Heaven - 1937; f.p. 1937 - Felix Aylmer, Ian Dawson, Stewart
Rome, Sophie Wyss, Peter Pears, BBC C & O, Trevor Harvey - BBC Radio King
Arthur - 1937
Hadrian's Wall - 1937
The World of the Spirit - 1938
The Sword in the Stone - 1939
An American in England - 1942
The Rescue - 1943