List of compositions by Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten in 1968

This list of compositions includes all the published works by English composer Benjamin Britten with opus number.

By genre

Operas

Paul Bunyan, Op. 17:

  • Operetta in two acts, 114'.
  • Libretto by W. H. Auden, after the American folktale.
  • Premiered on 5 May 1941 at Brander Matthews Hall, New York.
  • Published by Faber Music.

Peter Grimes, Op. 33:

  • Opera in a prologue and three acts, 147'.
  • Libretto by Montagu Slater, after the poem The Borough by George Crabbe.
  • Premiered on 7 June 1945 at Sadler's Wells, London.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

The Rape of Lucretia, Op. 37:

  • Opera in two acts, 107'.
  • Libretto by Ronald Duncan, after the play Le Viol de Lucrèce by André Obey.
  • Premiered on 12 July 1946 at Glyndebourne.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Albert Herring, Op. 39:

  • Comic opera in three acts, 137'.
  • Libretto by Eric Crozier, loosely after the short story Le Rosier de Mme. Husson by Guy de Maupassant.
  • Premiered on 20 June 1947 at Glyndebourne.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

The Beggar's Opera, Op. 43:

  • Ballad opera, 108'.
  • Libretto after the ballad opera by John Gay.
  • Premiered on 24 May 1948 at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Let's Make an Opera (The Little Sweep), Op. 45:

  • An Entertainment for Young People, 130'.
  • Libretto by Eric Crozier.
  • Premiered on 14 June 1949 at Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh Festival.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Billy Budd, Op. 50:

  • Opera in four acts, 162'.
  • Libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, after the novella by Herman Melville.
  • Premiered on 1 December 1951 at the Royal Opera House, London.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Billy Budd (revised):

  • Opera in two acts, 158'.
  • Premiered on 9 January 1964 at the Royal Opera House, London.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Gloriana, Op. 53:

  • Opera in three acts, 148'.
  • Libretto by William Plomer, after Elizabeth and Essex by Lytton Strachey.
  • Premiered on 8 June 1953 at the Royal Opera House, London.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

The Turn of the Screw, Op. 54:

Noye's Fludde, Op. 59:

  • Music-theatre for community performance, 50'.
  • Libretto after the Chester Miracle Play as published in English Miracle Plays, Moralities and Interludes
  • Premiered on 18 June 1958 at Orford Church, Aldeburgh Festival.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 64:

  • Opera in three acts, 144'.
  • Libretto by the composer and Peter Pears, after the play by Shakespeare.
  • Premiered on 11 June 1960 at Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh Festival.
  • Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Owen Wingrave, Op. 85:

  • Opera for television in two acts, 106'.
  • Libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after the short story by Henry James.
  • Premiered on 16 May 1971 in a BBC2 TV broadcast. First staged on 10 May 1973 at the Royal Opera House, London.
  • Published by Faber Music.

Death in Venice, Op. 88:

Church parables

Ballets

Orchestral

Concertante

  • Rondo Concertante for piano and strings (1930)
  • Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (1932). "Instrumentation...virtually 100% Britten" (Matthews, Erato sleeve note, 1999 – Colin Matthews realised the orchestration).
  • Piano Concerto (1938; rev. 1945, the original third movement – Recitative and Aria – replaced by an Impromptu)
  • Violin Concerto (1939; rev. 1958)
  • Young Apollo for piano, string quartet and string orchestra (1939)
  • Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra (1940; rev. 1954)
  • Scottish Ballad for two pianos and orchestra (1941)
  • Clarinet Concerto (incomplete: 1st movement only, 1942/3, orch. by Colin Matthews, who later added two further movements from 1940s Britten sketches, incl. Sonata for Orchestra; resulting work, Movements for a Clarinet Concerto, first published 2008)
  • In memoriam Dennis Brain (c. 1958), unfinished sketch for four horns and orchestra.
  • Cello Symphony (1963)

Vocal/choral orchestral

  • Quatre Chansons Françaises for soprano and orchestra (1928)
  • Two Psalms for chorus and orchestra (1931)
  • Our Hunting Fathers for soprano or tenor and orchestra (words by W. H. Auden and others; 1936)
  • The Company of Heaven for speakers, soloists, chorus and orchestra (BBC, September 1937, not performed again until 1989)
  • The World of the Spirit for speakers, SATB soloists, chorus and orchestra (BBC, May 1938)
  • Ballad of Heroes, Op. 14, for tenor or soprano, chorus and orchestra (words by W. H. Auden and Randall Swingler; 1939)
  • Les Illuminations for soprano or tenor and strings (words by Arthur Rimbaud) (1939; three further songs, not included in the cycle, also exist — another setting also called 'Phrase', and 'Aube' and 'A une raison'; they have been orchestrated by Colin Matthews; there also exists a sketch for a further Rimbaud setting)
  • Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943)
  • The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard for male voice choir and piano (1943)
  • Saint Nicolas for tenor soloist, children's chorus, chorus, and orchestra (1948)
  • Spring Symphony for soprano, contralto, and tenor soloists, mixed chorus, boys' choir and orchestra (1949)
  • Nocturne for tenor, seven obbligato instruments and strings (1958)
  • Cantata academica for soloists, chorus and orchestra (1959)
  • War Requiem for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, chamber ensemble, boys' chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra (1961)
  • Cantata misericordium for tenor and baritone soloists, small chorus, string quartet, string orchestra, piano, harp, timpani (1963)
  • Phaedra for mezzo-soprano, cello, harpsichord, percussion, and string orchestra (words by Robert Lowell; after Jean Racine's Phèdre; 1975)
  • Praise we great men for soloists, chorus and orchestra (words by Edith Sitwell; 1976. Completed by Colin Matthews, 1985)
  • Welcome Ode for young people's voices and orchestra (1976)
  • The Rescue of Penelope for voices and orchestra

Vocal

Choral

  • A Hymn to the Virgin for chorus and soli (1930; revised 1934)
  • Christ's Nativity for unaccompanied chorus (1931)
  • A Boy Was Born for treble voices and choir (1933; revised 1955)
  • Jubilate Deo in E-flat for chorus and organ (published posthumously; 1934)
  • Te Deum in C for treble solo, chorus, trumpet, and organ (1934)
  • Friday Afternoons for children's voices and piano (1935)
  • Advance Democracy for unaccompanied choir (1938)
  • A.M.D.G. (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam), seven settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins for unaccompanied SATB (1939)
  • A Ceremony of Carols for treble voices and harp (1942); an alternative arrangement for mixed voices and harp (or piano) is popular as well
  • Hymn to St Cecilia for unaccompanied choir (poem by W. H. Auden; 1942)
  • Rejoice in the Lamb for four soloists, choir, and organ (text by Christopher Smart; 1943)
  • Festival Te Deum in E for chorus and organ (1944)
  • A Wedding anthem 'Amo Ergo Sum' for soprano, tenor, SATB and organ (1949)
  • Five Flower Songs for SATB (1950)
  • Hymn to St Peter for treble soloist, SATB and organ (1955)
  • Antiphon for SATB and organ, (1955)
  • Missa Brevis for boys' voices and organ (1959)
  • Jubilate Deo for chorus and organ (1961)
  • A Hymn of St Columba for chorus and organ (1962)
  • The Golden Vanity for five boy soloists, treble chorus and piano (1966)
  • The Building of the House for chorus or organ or brass and orchestra (1967)
  • Children's Crusade for nine boy soloists and chorus, percussion, organ and two pianos (text by Bertolt Brecht, trans. Hans Keller; 1968)
  • Sacred and Profane for SSATB (1974–5)

Chamber/instrumental

Solo piano

  • Five Waltzes, for piano (1923–25, rev. 1969)
  • Three Character Pieces, for piano (1930)
  • Twelve variations on a theme, for piano (1930)
  • Holiday Diary for piano (1934)
  • Sonatina romantica for piano (rejected by the composer; 1940)
  • Night-Piece (Notturno) for piano (written for Leeds International Pianoforte Competition; 1963)
  • Variations for piano (1965)

Two pianos

  • Two Lullabies for two pianos (1936)
  • Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca for two pianos (1940)
  • Mazurka elegiaca for two pianos (written as part of the collaborative album Homage to Paderewski; 1941)

Organ

String quartet

  • String Quartet in F major (1928)
  • Rhapsody (1929)
  • Quartettino (1930)
  • String Quartet in D major (1931, revised 1974)
  • Alla Marcia (1933)
  • Three Divertimenti, for string quartet (1933, revised 1936): March, Waltz, Burlesque
  • String Quartet No. 1 in D major (1941)
  • String Quartet No. 2 in C major (1945)
  • String Quartet No. 3 in G major (1975)

Violin and piano

  • Suite for Violin and Piano (1935)
  • Reveille, Concert Study (1937, published 1983)

Viola and piano

  • Reflection for viola and piano (1930)
  • Lachrymae for viola and piano, after "If my complaints could passions move" by John Dowland; for William Primrose; 1950)
  • There is a willow grows aslant a brook (1932), an arrangement of the orchestral poem by Frank Bridge. The title is taken from Shakespeare, and the arrangement by Britten is dedicated to Bridge.

Violin, viola and piano

  • Two Pieces (1929; first performance 2003)[5]

Solo viola

  • Etude (1929)
  • Elegy (1930)

Cello and piano

  • Cello Sonata in C major (1961)

Solo cello

  • Cello Suite No. 1 (1964)
  • Cello Suite No. 2 (1967)
  • Cello Suite No. 3 (1972)
  • Tema "Sacher" for cello solo (1976)

Oboe and piano

  • Two Insect Pieces for oboe and piano (1935)
  • Temporal Variations for oboe and piano (1936)

Oboe and strings

Solo oboe

Flute, violin and piano 4-hands

  • Gemini Variations for flute, violin, and piano four hands (1965)

Solo timpani

  • Timpani Piece for Jimmy, timpani solo (1955) for James Blades

Three trumpets

Guitar

Harp

  • Suite for Solo Harp (1969)

Film & drama music

  • Night Mail (1936), with words by W. H. Auden
  • The Agamemnon of Aeschylus (1936), play by Louis MacNeice
  • Love from a Stranger (1937), film directed by Rowland V. Lee
  • Out of the Picture (1937), play by Louis MacNeice
  • The Sword In The Stone (1939), six-part radio drama[a]
  • The Dark Tower (1946), radio play by Louis MacNeice

By opus number

  • Op. 1, Sinfonietta, for five winds and five strings 1932, revised for chamber orchestra 1936
  • Op. 2, Phantasy Quartet, oboe quartet, 1932
  • Op. 3, A Boy was Born for mixed chorus with organ ad lib, 1933, revised 1955
  • Op. 4, Simple Symphony for strings, 1934 (+ also version for string quartet)
  • Op. 5, Holiday Diary for piano, 1934
  • Op. 6, Suite for violin and piano, 1935
  • Op. 7, Friday Afternoons for children's voices and piano, 1935
  • Op. 8, Our Hunting Fathers for soprano or tenor and orchestra (words by W. H. Auden), 1936
  • Op. 9, Soirées musicales for orchestra (after Rossini), 1936
  • Op. 10, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra, 1937
  • Op. 11, On this Island for soprano or tenor and piano (words by W. H. Auden), 1937
  • Op. 12, Mont Juic, suite of Catalan dances, with Lennox Berkeley, 1937
  • Op. 13, Piano Concerto, 1938, revised 1945
  • Op. 14, Ballad of Heroes for tenor or soprano, chorus and orchestra (words by W. H. Auden and Randall Swingler), 1939
  • Op. 15, Violin Concerto, 1939, revised 1958
  • Op. 16, Young Apollo for piano and strings, 1939 (withdrawn, published 1982)
  • Op. 17, Paul Bunyan, opera (libretto by W. H. Auden), 1941, revised 1976
  • Op. 18, Les Illuminations, for soprano or tenor and strings (words by Arthur Rimbaud), 1939
  • Op. 19, Canadian Carnival overture, 1939
  • Op. 20, Sinfonia da Requiem, 1940
  • Op. 21, Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra, 1940, revised 1954
  • Op. 22, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo for tenor and piano, 1940
  • Op. 23
    • No. 1, Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca for two pianos, 1940
    • No. 2, Mazurka elegiaca for two pianos, 1941
  • Op. 24, Matinées musicales for orchestra (after Rossini), 1941
  • Op. 25, String Quartet No. 1, 1941
  • Op. 26, Scottish Ballad for two pianos and orchestra, 1941
  • Op. 27, Occasional Overture, 1941; retitled An American Overture when first performed, 1983[7]
  • Op. 27, Hymn to St Cecilia for SSATB, 1942 (replaced Occasional Overture as Op. 27)
  • Op. 28, A Ceremony of Carols for trebles and harp, 1942
  • Op. 29, Prelude and Fugue for 18 strings, 1943
  • Op. 30, Rejoice in the Lamb for soloists, chorus and organ, 1943
  • Op. 31, Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, song cycle, 1943
  • Op. 32, Festival Te Deum for chorus and organ, 1945
  • Op. 33, Peter Grimes, opera (libretto by Montagu Slater, after George Crabbe), 1945
    • Op. 33a, Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
    • Op. 33b, Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
  • Op. 34, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell (The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra), 1946
  • Op. 35, The Holy Sonnets of John Donne for soprano or tenor and piano, 1945
  • Op. 36, String Quartet No. 2, 1945
  • Op. 37, The Rape of Lucretia, opera (libretto by Ronald Duncan, after André Obey), 1946, revised 1947
  • Op. 38, Occasional Overture, 1946 (withdrawn, published 1984)
  • Op. 39, Albert Herring, opera (libretto by Eric Crozier, after Guy de Maupassant), 1947
  • Op. 40, My beloved is mine (Canticle I) for soprano or tenor and piano (words by Francis Quarles), 1947
  • Op. 41, A Charm of Lullabies for mezzo soprano and piano, 1947
  • Op. 42, Saint Nicolas for soloists, chorus, strings, piano (4 hands), percussion and organ, 1948
  • Op. 43, The Beggar's Opera after John Gay, 1948
  • Op. 44, Spring Symphony for soloists, mixed choir, children's choir and orchestra, 1949
  • Op. 45, The Little Sweep, opera (libretto by Eric Crozier), 1949
  • Op. 46, A Wedding anthem Amo Ergo Sum for soprano, tenor, SATB and organ (words by Ronald Duncan), 1949
  • Op. 47, Five Flower Songs for SATB, 1950
  • Op. 48, Lachrymae for viola and piano, 1950
    • Op. 48a, Lachrymae for viola and strings, 1976
  • Op. 49, Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for oboe, 1951
  • Op. 50, Billy Budd, opera (libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, after Herman Melville), 1951, revised 1960
  • Op. 51, Abraham and Isaac (Canticle II) for alto, tenor and piano (Chester miracle play), 1952
  • Op. 52, Winter Words for soprano or tenor and piano (words by Thomas Hardy), 1953
  • Op. 53, Gloriana, opera (libretto by William Plomer, after Lytton Strachey), 1953
    • Op. 53a, Symphonic Suite "Gloriana" for tenor or oboe and orchestra, 1954
  • Op. 54, The Turn of the Screw, opera (libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after Henry James), 1954
  • Op. 55, Still Falls the Rain (Canticle III) for tenor, horn and piano (words Edith Sitwell), 1954
  • Op. 56a, Hymn to St Peter for treble, SATB and organ, 1955
  • Op. 56b, Antiphon for SATB and organ, 1955
  • Op. 57, The Prince of the Pagodas, ballet, 1956
    • Op. 57a, Pas de six from The Prince of the Pagodas
  • Op. 58, Songs from the Chinese for soprano or tenor and guitar, 1957
  • Op. 59, Noye's Fludde, opera (Chester mystery play), 1957
  • Op. 60, Nocturne for tenor, 7 obbligato instruments and string orchestra, song cycle, 1958
  • Op. 61, Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente for voice and piano, 1958
  • Op. 62, Cantata academica, 1959
  • Op. 63, Missa brevis for boys' voices and organ, 1959
  • Op. 64, A Midsummer Night's Dream, opera (libretto by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, after William Shakespeare), 1960
  • Op. 65, Sonata for cello and piano, 1961
  • Op. 66, War Requiem, 1961
  • Op. 67, Psalm CL for children's chorus and instruments, 1962
  • Op. 68, Cello Symphony, 1963
  • Op. 69, Cantata misericordium, 1963
  • Op. 70, Nocturnal after John Dowland for guitar, 1963
  • Op. 71, Curlew River, church parable (libretto by William Plomer, after Noh), 1964
  • Op. 72, Cello Suite No. 1, 1964
  • Op. 73, Gemini Variations for flute, violin and piano four hands, 1965
  • Op. 74, Songs and Proverbs of William Blake for baritone and piano, 1965
  • Op. 75, Voices for Today for boys' voices, chorus and organ ad lib, 1965
  • Op. 76, The Poet's Echo for soprano or tenor and piano (words by Alexander Pushkin), 1965
  • Op. 77, The Burning Fiery Furnace, church parable (libretto by William Plomer, after the Book of Daniel), 1966
  • Op. 78, The Golden Vanity for boys' voices and piano (words by Colin Graham), 1966
  • Op. 79, The Building of the House overture, for chorus or organ or brass and orchestra, 1967
  • Op. 80, Cello Suite No. 2, 1967
  • Op. 81, The Prodigal Son, church parable (libretto by William Plomer, after the Gospel of Luke), 1968
  • Op. 82, Children's Crusade (words Bertolt Brecht/Hans Keller), 1968
  • Op. 83, Suite for Harp, 1969
  • Op. 84, Who Are These Children? for tenor and piano (words by William Soutar), 1969
  • Op. 85, Owen Wingrave, opera (libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on Henry James), 1970
  • Op. 86, The Journey of the Magi (Canticle IV) for countertenor, tenor, baritone and piano (words by T. S. Eliot), 1971
  • Op. 87, Cello Suite No. 3, 1971
  • Op. 88, Death in Venice, opera (libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on Thomas Mann), 1973
  • Op. 89, The Death of Saint Narcissus (Canticle V) for tenor and harp (words by T. S. Eliot), 1974
  • Op. 90, A Suite on English Folk Tunes "A Time There Was" for chamber orchestra, 1974
  • Op. 91, Sacred and Profane for five voices (SSATB), 1975
  • Op. 92, A Birthday Hansel for high voice and harp (words by Robert Burns), 1975
  • Op. 93, Phaedra, cantata (words by Robert Lowell, after Jean Racine), 1975
  • Op. 94, String Quartet No. 3, 1975
  • Op. 95, Welcome Ode for young people's voices and orchestra, 1976

Notes

  1. ^ An adaptation of the T. H. White novel The Sword In The Stone. A single surviving 25-minute episode Wart and the Hawks, is available to stream.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Tit for tat". LiederNet. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Tit for Tat". brittensongs.org. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Tit for Tat". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Benjamin Britten – Fish in the Unruffled Lakes". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  5. ^ Anderson, Martin (October 2006). "London, St. John's Smith Square: Britten and David Matthews premières". Tempo. 57 (226): 69. doi:10.1017/S0040298203240365. S2CID 145557734.
  6. ^ "The Sword in the Stone, Wart and the Hawks". BBC Radio 4. BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  7. ^ Oliver 1996, p. 215.

Sources

  • Diane McVeagh, ed. (1986). English Masters. New Grove Composer Biography. Grove Publications. ISBN 0-333-40241-3.
  • Oliver, Michael (1996). Benjamin Britten. Phaidon 20th Century Composers. Phaidon. ISBN 0714832774.
  • Britten Thematic Catalogue
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List of compositions
Opera and operetta
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CollaborationsFilm adaptations
  • War Requiem (1989 film)
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