music.wikisort.org - Composition

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:

• Opera in a prologue and two acts, 101'.
• Libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after the novella by Henry James.
• Premiered on 14 September 1954 at Teatro La Fenice, Venice.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

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:

• Opera in two acts, 145'.
• Libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after the novella by Thomas Mann.
• Premiered on 16 June 1973, Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh Festival.
• Published by Faber Music.

Church parables

• Curlew River (Op. 71; 1964), based on a Japanese Noh play
• The Burning Fiery Furnace (Op. 77; 1966), after the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3
• The Prodigal Son (Op. 81; 1968), after the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15

Ballets

• Plymouth Town (ballet for small orchestra; 1931)
• The Prince of the Pagodas (1956)

Orchestral

• "Two Portraits" for string orchestra (1930). No. 2 is subtitled "E.B.B" – his own initials, and thus a self-portrait (also arr. for viola and strings). No. 3 was unrealised.
• Sinfonietta Op. 1, for five winds and five strings (1932), revised for chamber orchestra (1936)
• Simple Symphony for string orchestra (1934)
• Soirées musicales, after Rossini (1936)
• Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra (1937)
• Mont Juic, a suite of Catalan Dances, jointly composed with Lennox Berkeley (1937)
• Canadian Carnival (1939)
• Sinfonia da Requiem (1940)
• Matinées musicales, after Rossini (1941)
• An American Overture (1941)
• Prelude and Fugue for 18 Strings (1943)
• Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes, for orchestra (1945)
• The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1946)
• Occasional Overture (1946)
• Men of Goodwill – variations on a Christmas carol (1947)
• Variations on an Elizabethan Theme, jointly composed with Lennox Berkeley, Arthur Oldham, Humphrey Searle, Michael Tippett and William Walton (1953)
• Symphonic Suite from Gloriana (1954)
• Suite on English Folk Tunes, A Time There Was... for chamber orchestra (1966/1974)

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 (1937, not performed again until 1989)
• 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)

Vocal

• Beware! Three Early Songs for voice and piano (1) "Beware!" (words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; 1922) (2) "O that I had ne'er been Married" (words by Robert Burns; 1922) (3) "Epitaph: The Clerk" (words by Herbert Asquith; 1926; rev. 1968, published 1985
• Tit for Tat for voice and piano (words by Walter de la Mare; 1928–31; (1) "A Song of Enchantment" (2) "Autumn" (3) "Silver" (4) "Vigil" (5) "Tit for Tat";[1] rev. and published 1969;[2] premiered by John Shirley-Quirk and the composer at the 1969 Aldeburgh Festival)[3]
• The Birds (Belloc; 1929, rev. 1934)
• On this Island for high voice and piano (1937) (words by W. H. Auden)
• Fish in the Unruffled Lakes (1937-1947) (words by W. H. Auden – includes songs originally intended for, but ultimate not used in, On this Island[4])
• Cabaret Songs for medium voice and piano (words by W. H. Auden: "Tell Me the Truth About Love", "Funeral Blues", "Johnny", and "Calypso"; 1940)
• Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo for tenor and piano, Op. 22 (1940)
• The Holy Sonnets of John Donne for tenor and piano, Op. 35 (1945)
• Canticle I: My beloved is mine for tenor and piano (one of the Canticles; 1947)
• A Charm of Lullabies for mezzo-soprano and piano (1947)
• Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac for alto (or countertenor), tenor, and piano (one of the Canticles; 1952)
• Canticle III: Still falls the rain for tenor, horn and piano (words by Edith Sitwell; one of the Canticles; 1954)
• Winter Words for tenor and piano, poetry by Thomas Hardy (1954)
• The Heart of the Matter for narrator, tenor, horn, and piano (1956)
• Songs from the Chinese for soprano or tenor and guitar, Op. 58 (translations by Arthur Waley; 1957)
• Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente for tenor and piano, Op. 61 (1958)
• Songs and Proverbs of William Blake for baritone and piano, Op. 74 (1965)
• The Poet's Echo for soprano or tenor and piano, Op. 76 (words by Alexander Pushkin; 1965)
• Who Are These Children? for tenor and piano, Op. 84 (words by William Soutar; 1969)
• Canticle IV: The Journey of the Magi for countertenor, tenor, baritone, and piano (one of the Canticles; 1971)
• Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus for tenor and harp (one of the Canticles; 1974)
• A Birthday Hansel for high voice and harp (1975)
• Eight books of Folksong Arrangements from the British Isles and France, for voice and piano, guitar and harp
• Britten's Purcell Realizations, many realizations of songs by Henry Purcell for voice(s) and piano

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

• Prelude and Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria for organ (1946)

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)

Viola and piano

• Reflections for viola and piano (1930)
• Lachrymae for viola and piano, after "If my complaints could passions move" by John Dowland; for William Primrose; 1950)
  • arranged for viola and string orchestra (for Cecil Aronowitz; 1976)
• 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

• Phantasy Quartet, Op. 2, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello (1932)

Solo oboe

• Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe (1951), with quotations from Ovid's poem Metamorphoses

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

• Fanfare for St Edmundsbury, short antiphonal and polytonal piece for three trumpets (1959)

Guitar

• Nocturnal after John Dowland for guitar (1963)

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
• Out of the Picture (1937), play by Louis MacNeice
• The Sword In The Stone (1939), six-part radio drama[lower-alpha 1]
• 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

References

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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