Search - Britten, Pears, Lso :: Serenade/Les Illuminations/Nocturne

Amazing! (a very brief review)

Peter Myers | St. Louis, Missouri | 10/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Britten's astounding gift for setting words to music is as evident as ever on this disc. The Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings is one of Britten's more well-known works, and rightfully so. For people unfamiliar with Britten's music, this is a good place to start.



Les Illuminations, set to the French poetry of Rimbaud, is an earlier work. It's perhaps not as "deep" or motivically connected as the Nocturne, but it includes some gorgeous songs ("Antique", "Being Beauteous") which are not to be missed.



The Nocturne, without a doubt a masterpiece and my personal favorite of the set, was written almost as a sequel to the Serenade. It's constructed around a rocking "sleep" motif in the strings, which connects all of the movements, and culminates in a mindboggling setting of Shakespeare, "When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see".



Peter Pears, Britten's lifelong partner whose voice Britten had in mind when he wrote these works, is at his best here. His voice has a uniquely beautiful quality and his musicianship is stunning. Listen and be entranced to his first words in the Pastoral of the Serenade: "The day's grown old..."



This CD includes some of the most beautiful and intelligent music ever written. Buy it!"