BENJAMIN BRITTEN

HYMN TO SAINT CECILIA

Anthony Rolfe Johnson Corydon Singers English Chamber Orchestra Matthew Best

SAINT NICOLAS

Britten

AINT NICOLAS, putative Bishop of Myra, is better known to us as Santa Claus. He flourished during the fourth century but is one of those medieval saints whose shadowy existence is more legend than fact. Though his cult was well established by the sixth century, it seems that we have Methodiuss fictitious ninth-century biography to thank for crediting him with his many miracles, and perhaps with most of his good deeds too. Methodius, no doubt anxious to add perfume to the odour of his heros sanctity, was at pains to emphasize the incidence of the number three (the holy number) in Nicolass legend. By his gift of three bags of gold to three impoverished girls to save them from prostitution he became patron of unmarried girls, and also, coincidentally, of pawnbrokers, for this story is the origin of the three gold balls that are the pawnbrokers insignia. He is credited with saving three men from an unjust death; and the rescue of three drowning sailors off the coast of Turkey made him patron saint of sailors. But not the least of his holy works is the one which made Nicolas the protector of children and most beloved of saintsthe restoration to life of three little boys pickled in brine by a vicious butcher in time of famine. In addition to these diverse patronages Nicolas is also the protector of merchants, perfumiers, and apothecaries. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries his cult was particularly strong in England. Anselm and Godric composed prayers to him, and Godric set his to music. Though the cult of saints went into decline following the Reformation, Nicolass survived and he became transmogrified by his association with Christmas and the giving of presents to deserving children into the universal Santa Claus. Nicolass association with boys and merchants made him the perfect choice of subject when, in 1948, Lancing College celebrated its centenary and asked Benjamin Britten to write something specially for the occasion. Peter Pears, a one-time pupil of the College, probably had something to do with securing the commission. Eric Crozier, already associated with Britten as producer of The Rape of Lucretia and librettist of

Albert Herring, furnished the text of what turned out to be the composers first important work for childrens voices. Crozier selected eight episodes from Nicolass storyhis prodigious piety at birth, his call to the holy life, his saving of the sailors on his way to Palestine, his election to the bishopric of Myra, his imprisonment under Diocletian, his restoration to life of the three boys and other marvellous deeds, and finally his tranquil joy in the face of death. And Britten, no doubt aware of Nicolass kindness to unmarried girls, drew on the services of a girls choir (albeit modestly distanced) to augment the boys voices. At the first performance, which actually took place at the Aldeburgh Festival and not at Lancing, the Lancing boys were joined by choirs from Ardingly, St Michaels and Hurstpierpoint Schools. The solo tenor part representing Nicolas was sung, naturally enough, by Pears. The instrumental accompaniment, designed to remain within the compass of what a school could provide and accomplished players comfortably manage, consists of piano duet, strings, percussion (not immediately used) and organ. Peter Evans, in his book about the composer, has made a comprehensive analysis of Saint Nicolas, drawing our attention to the many ingenious devices by which Britten knits together what superficially appear to be simple, sometimes naive, ideas, making out of them a pice doccasion which E M Forster described as one of those triumphs outside the rules of art. Is everything as faultless, though, as Forsters tribute might suggest? The fugal section of the fifth movement could be thought over-extended and rather limp, and though the incorporation of a well-known hymn, The Old Hundredth (All people that on earth do dwell), has a distinguished pedigree going back to the cantatas of Bach and gives the audience something to get its teeth into, it comes with a bit of a jolt. On the credit side the storm music of the fourth movement, achieved by relatively simple means, is typical Britten and highly effective, and the choral setting of the Nunc dimittis in counterpoint to the tenor solo as Nicolas looks forward to
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meeting God is inspired. Here the music modulates with effortless ingenuity and might have seemed slick had it not been of such transparent loveliness. But the magic is disappointingly diffused by the appearance of a second chorale, the hymn God moves in a mysterious way. Despite the gloss Britten has put upon its mundane harmonies, this, coming as the climax to the work, seriously threatens the emotional climate created earlier. In May 1939 Britten departed with Pears for America in the wake of their poet friend W H Auden. The professional association between Auden and Britten dated back to 1936 and the GPO Film Unit. It had been a fruitful one and was to remain so a little longer, but by 1942 the conservative musician had become alienated from Audens brand of bohemianism, and was beginning to find the poets penchant for verbal gymnastics (much in evidence in Paul Bunyan for example) no longer to his taste. Britten began to feel rootless and increasingly homesick. At last, spurred on by the chance discovery of E M Forsters article on the poet Crabbe in the Spring of 1942, he and Pears decided to return home. The departure from America coincided with Brittens final severance from Audens influence, but just before he left he began work on a setting of Audens three poems A Song to St Cecilia. These were dedicated to him (Brittens birthday fell on St Cecilias Day, 22 November), but he found himself unable to complete the work. The voyage, however, proved therapeutic; his creative imagination began to work again and the Hymn to

St Cecilia was finished, as the score proclaims, at sea. So was A Ceremony of Carols. In a sense these two works represent an end and a new beginning. The Auden setting signifies the end of the appeal of tricksy rhyming, and puts a final closure to the charges of false sophistication and glib facility that had sometimes been levelled at Brittens early work. The medieval carols on the other hand signal the return to something fundamentally English, deep rooted, familiar, and conservative in the best sense. The Hymn to St Cecilia is set for five-part unaccompanied chorus. The three poems, In a garden shady, I cannot grow, and O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall are linked by the litany
Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire.

At certain junctures in his final poem Auden, like Dryden before him, refers to specific instrumentsviolin, flute, drum and trumpetbut Britten, having no orchestra, studiously avoids any temptation to imitate, inserting instead short isolated solo cadenzas which serve the dual purpose of suggesting an instrumental source while, more importantly, directing the listeners attention to some of Audens most powerfully emotive lines. A repeat of the Blessed Cecilia quatrain brings this concentrated and imaginative work to a close.
KENNETH DOMMETT 1988

If you have enjoyed this recording perhaps you would like a catalogue listing the many others available on the Hyperion and Helios labels. If so, please write to Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, England, or email us at info@hyperion-records.co.uk, and we will be pleased to post you one free of charge. The Hyperion catalogue can also be accessed on the Internet at www.hyperion-records.co.uk 3

A note on the recording A word of explanation should be included concerning the many choirs involved in this recording of St Nicolas. Our distribution of forces generally follows the example set by Britten in his recording of 1955. In addition to a mixed choir for the main chorus (Corydon Singers, who also sing the Hymn to Saint Cecilia), two other choirs are used: a girls choir as the gallery choir (the sopranos and altos from Warwick University Chamber Choir, with Simon Halsey as subconductor), and a boys choir (the choristers of St Georges Chapel, Windsorof whom the treble soloist, Harry Briggs, is one) for both the section depicting the birth and childhood of Nicolas (which can sound a little coy when sung by grown-ups!) and for the solo parts of young Nicolas and the pickled boys. All three choirs join for the two hymns, with the Warwick girls and the Windsor boys both singing the descant to All people that on earth do dwell from opposite ends of the church.

Finally, we felt that no recording of Saint Nicolas would be complete without a congregation for the two hymns (an essential part of any performance but omitted, presumably for practical reasons, from previous commercial recordings). In order to achieve this, substantial contingents from a further five choirs, together with numerous friends and relations, packed into the remaining corner of All Hallows Church for the final session. The congregation is made up of singers from the choirs of Sevenoaks School and Tonbridge School, the Choir of Christ Church, Southgate, The Penshurst Choral Society, The Occasional Choir and friends.
MATTHEW BEST

SAINT NICOLAS

A cantata, Op 42, for tenor solo, mixed chorus, piano duet, organ, strings & percussion (timpani, side drum, bass drum, tenor drum, cymbal, triangle, gong, whip, tambourine) Text by Eric Crozier (19141994). Copyright 1948 by Boosey & Co. Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd Published by Boosey & Hawkes Ltd

SAINT NICOLAS

1 Introduction
CHORUS Our eyes are blinded by the holiness you bear.

The bishops robe, the mitre and the cross of gold Obscure the simple man within the Saint. Strip off your glory, Nicolas, and speak! NICOLAS Across the tremendous bridge of sixteen hundred years I come to stand in worship with you As I stood among my faithful congregation long ago. All who knelt beside me then are gone.
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Their name is dust, their tombs are grass and clay, Yet still their shining seed of faith survives In you! It weathers time, it springs again In you! With you it stands like forest oak Or withers with the grasses underfoot. Preserve the living Faith for which your fathers fought! For Faith was won by centuries of sacrifice And many martyrs died That you might worship God. CHORUS Help us, Lord! to find the hidden road That leads from love to greater Love, from faith To greater Faith. Strengthen us, O Lord! Screw up our strength to serve Thee with simplicity.

2 The birth of Nicolas

CHORUS Nicolas was born in answer to prayer,

And leaping from his mothers womb he cried NICOLAS God be glorified! CHORUS Swaddling-bands and crib awaited him there, But Nicolas clapped both his hands and cried NICOLAS God be glorified! CHORUS Innocent and joyful, naked and fair, He came in pride on earth to abide. NICOLAS God be glorified! CHORUS Water rippled Welcome! in the bath-tub by his side; He dived in open-eyed, he swam, he cried NICOLAS God be glorified! CHORUS When he went to Church at Christmastide, He climbed up to the font to be baptised. NICOLAS God be glorified! CHORUS Pilgrims came to kneel and pray by his side. He grew in grace, his name was sanctified. NICOLAS God be glorified! CHORUS Nicolas grew in innocence and pride, His glory spread a rainbow round the countryside, Nicolas will be a Saint! the neighbours cried. NICOLAS God be glorified!

Heartsick, I cast away all things that could distract my mind From full devotion to His will; I thrust my happiness behind But Love desired more still. Heartsick, I calld on God to purge my angry soul, To be my only Master, friend and guide. I begged for sweet humility And Love was satisfied.

4 He journeys to Palestine
CHORUS Nicolas sailed for Palestine

3 Nicolas devotes himself to God

NICOLAS My parents died

All too soon I left the tranquil beauty of their home And knew the wider world of man. Poor man! I found him solitary, racked By doubt: born, bred, doomed to die In everlasting fear of everlasting death: The foolish toy of time, the darling of decay Hopeless, faithless, defying God. Heartsick, in hope to mask the twisted face of poverty, I sold my lands to feed the poor. I gave my goods to charity But Love demanded more.

Across the sunlit seas. The South West Wind blew soft and fair, Seagulls hovered through the air, And spices scented the breeze. Everyone felt that land was near: All dangers now were past: Except for one who knelt in prayer, Fingers clasped and head quite bare, Alone by the mizzen mast. The sailors jeered at Nicolas, Who paid them no regard, Until the hour of sunset came When up he stood and stopped their game Of staking coins on cards. Nicolas spoke and prophesied A tempest far ahead. The sailors scorned such words of fear, Since sky and stars shone bright and clear, So Nonsense! they all said. Darkness was soon on top of them, But still the South Wind blew. The Captain went below to sleep, And left the helmsman there to keep His course with one of the crew. Nicolas swore hed punish them For mocking at the Lord. The wind arose, the thunder roared, Lightning split the waves that poured In wild cascades on board.
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Waterspouts rose in majesty Until the ship was tossed Abaft, aback, astern, abeam, Lit by lightnings livid gleam, And all aboard cried Lost! Lightning hisses through the night, Blinding sight with living light! Ah! Spare us! Man the pumps! Save us! Man the pumps! Axes! Saviour! Ah! Winds and tempests howl their cry Of battle through the raging sky! Ah! Spare us! Lifeboats! Save us! Lifeboats! Lower away! Saviour! Waves repeat their angry roar, Fall and spring again once more! Let her run before the wind! Shorten sail! Reef her! Heave her to! Thunder rends the sky asunder With its savage shouts of wonder! Ah! Pray to God! Kneel and pray! Lightning, Thunder, Tempest, Ocean Praise their God with voice and motion. Nicolas waited patiently, Till they were on their knees, Then down he knelt in thankfulness Begging God their ship to bless And make the storm to cease. NICOLAS O God! we are all weak, sinful, foolish men. We pray from fear and from necessity at death, in sickness or private loss. Without the prick of fear our conscience sleeps, forgetful of Thy Grace. Help us, O God! to see more clearly. Tame our stubborn hearts. Teach us to ask for less and offer more in gratitude to Thee. Pity our simplicity, for we are truly pitiable in Thy sight. Amen. The winds and waves lay down to rest, The sky was clear and calm. The ship sailed onward without harm And all creation sang a psalm Of loving thankfulness.
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Beneath the stars the sailors slept Exhausted by their fear, while I Knelt down for love of God on high And saw His angels in the sky Smile down at me, And wept, wept, and wept.

5 Nicolas comes to Myra and is chosen Bishop

CHORUS Come, stranger sent from God!

Come, man of God! Stand foremost in our Church, and serve this diocese, As Bishop Nicolas, our shield, our strength, our peace! NICOLAS I Nicolas, Bishop of Myra and its diocese, Shall with the unfailing grace of God, Defend His faithful servants, Comfort the widow and fatherless, And fulfil His will for this most blessed Church. CHORUS Amen. Place the mitre on your head to show your mastery of men! Take the golden robe that covers you with Christs authority! Wear the fine dalmatic woven with the Cross of Faith. Bear the crozier as a staff and comfort to your flock! Set the ring upon your hand in sacramental sign of wedlock with thy God! Serve the Faith and spurn His enemies! CONGREGATION All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice! Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell, Come ye before Him and rejoice. O enter then His gates with praise, Approach with joy His courts unto, Praise, laud and bless His name always, For it is seemly so to do. For why? the Lord our God is good: His mercy is for ever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure. Amen.

6 Nicolas from Prison

NICOLAS Persecution sprang upon our Church

And stilled its voice. Eight barren years it stifled under Roman rule: And I lay bound, condemned to celebrate My lonely sacrament with prison bread, While wolves ran loose among my flock. O man! the world is set for you as for a king! Paradise is yours in loveliness. The stars shine down for you, for you the angels sing, Yet you prefer your wilderness. You hug the rack of self, Embrace the lash of sin, Pour your treasures out to bribe distress. You build your temples fair without and foul within: You cultivate your wilderness. Yet Christ is yours. Yours! For you He lived and died. God in mercy gave His son to bless you all, To bring you life, And Him you crucified To desecrate your wilderness. Turn away from sin! Ah! bow Down your hard and stubborn hearts! Confess, yourselves to Him in penitence And humbly vow your lives to Him, to holiness.

7 Nicolas and the pickled boys

CHORUS Famine tracks us down the lanes,

Hunger holds our horses reins, Winter heaps the roads with snow; O we have far to go! Starving beggars howl their cry, Snarl to see us spurring by, Times are bad and travel slow; O we have far to go! We mourn our boys, our missing sons! We sorrow for three little ones! Timothy, Mark and John are gone!

Landlord, take this piece of gold! Bring us food before the cold Makes our pangs of hunger grow; O we have far to go! Day by day we seek to find Some trace of them, but oh! Unkind! Timothy, Mark and John are gone! Let us share this dish of meat. Come, my friends, sit down and eat! Join us, Bishop, for we know That you have far to go! Mary meek and Mother mild Who lost thy Jesus as a child, Our Timothy, Mark and John are gone! Come, your Grace, dont eat so slow! Take some meat NICOLAS O do not taste! O do not feed on sin! But haste to save three souls in need! The mothers cry is sad and weak, Within these walls they lie Whom mothers sadly seek Timothy, Mark and John, Put your fleshly garments on! Come from dark oblivion! Come! CHORUS See! Three boys spring back to life, Who, slaughtered by the butchers knife, Lay salted down! And entering, hand in hand they stand and sing Alleluia to their King!

8 His piety and marvellous works

CHORUS For forty years our Nicolas,

Our Prince of men, our shepherd and Our gentle guide, walked by our side. We turned to him at birth and death, In time of famine and distress, In all our grief, to bring relief. He led us from the valleys to The pleasant hills of grace, he fought To fold us in from mortal sin.
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O! he was prodigal of love! A spendthrift in devotion to Us all and blessed as he caressed. We keep his memory alive In legends that our children and Their childrens children treasure still. A captive at the heathen court Wept sorely all alone. O Nicolas is here, my son! And he will bring you home! Fill, fill my sack with corn! he said: We die from lack of food! And from that single sack he fed A hungry multitude. Three daughters of a nobleman Were doomed to shameful sin, Till our good Bishop ransomed them By throwing purses in. The gates were barred, the black flag flew, Three men knelt by the block, But Nicolas burst in like flame And stayed the axes shock. O help us, good Nicolas! Our ship is full of foam! He walked across the waves to them And led them safely home. He sat among the Bishops who Were summoned to Nicaea: Then rising with the wrath of God Boxed Ariuss ear! He threatened Constantine the Great With bell and book and ban: Till Constantine confessed his sins Like any common man. Let the legends that we tell, Praise him, with our prayers as well. We keep his memory alive In legends that our children and Their childrens children treasure still.
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9 The death of Nicolas

NICOLAS Death, I hear thy summons and I come

In haste, for my short life is done; And O! my soul is faint with love, For Him who waits for me above. Lord I come to life, to final birth I leave the misery of earth, For light, by Thy eternal grace, Where I shall greet Thee face to face. Christ, receive my soul with tenderness, For in my last of life I bless Thy name, Who lived and died for me, And dying, yield my soul to Thee. CHORUS Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant Depart in peace, according to Thy word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people To be a light to lighten the Gentiles And to be the glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, And to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end. Amen! CONGREGATION God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill He treasures up His bright designs, And works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break In blessings on your head. Amen.

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HYMN TO SAINT CECILIA

Op 27, for five-part unaccompanied chorus Text by W H Auden (19071973) Dedicated to Elizabeth Mayer Published by Boosey & Hawkes Ltd

I In a garden shady this holy lady With reverent cadence and subtle psalm, Like a black swan as death came on Poured forth her song in perfect calm: And by oceans margin this innocent virgin Constructed an organ to enlarge her prayer, And notes tremendous from her great engine Thundered out on the Roman air. Blonde Aphrodite rose up excited, Moved to delight by the melody, White as an orchid she rode quite naked In an oyster shell on top of the sea; At sounds so entrancing the angels dancing Came out of their trance into time again, And around the wicked in Hells abysses The huge flame flickered and eased their pain. Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions To all musicians, appear and inspire: Translated Daughter, come down and startle Composing mortals with immortal fire. II I cannot grow; I have no shadow To run away from, I only play. I cannot err; There is no creature Whom I belong to, Whom I could wrong. I am defeat When it knows it Can now do nothing By suffering.

All you lived through, Dancing because you No longer need it For any deed. I shall never be Different. Love me. Blessed Cecilia III
JANET COXWELL soprano, JENNY YOUDE alto, JOHN BOWEN tenor, KENNETH ROLES bass

O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall, O calm of spaces unafraid of weight, Where Sorrow is herself, forgetting all The gaucheness of her adolescent state, Where Hope within the altogether strange From every outworn image is released, And Dread born whole and normal like a beast Into a world of truths that never change: Restore our fallen day; O re-arrange. O dear white children casual as birds, Playing among the ruined languages, So small beside their large confusing words, So gay against the greater silences Of dreadful things you did: O hang the head, Impetuous child with the tremendous brain, O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain, Lost innocence who wished your lover dead, Weep for the lives your wishes never led. O cry created as the bow of sin Is drawn across our trembling violin. O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain. O law drummed out by hearts against the still Long winter of our intellectual will. That what has been may never be again. O flute that throbs with the thanksgiving breath Of convalescents on the shores of death. O bless the freedom that you never chose. O trumpets that unguarded children blow About the fortress of their inner foe. O wear your tribulation like a rose. Blessed Cecilia
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BRITTEN

Saint Nicolas et Hymn to Saint Cecilia

dj travaill avec Britten comme producteur (The Rape of Lucretia) et comme librettiste (Albert Herring), fournit le texte de ce qui savra tre la premire grande uvre brittenienne pour des voix denfants. Crozier slectionna huit pisodes de la vie de Nicolas : sa prodigieuse pit, ds sa naissance ; son appel la vie sainte ; son sauvetage des marins, alors quil se rendait en Palestine ; son lection lpiscopat de Myra ; son emprisonnement sous Diocltien ; sa rsurrection des trois garonnets ; diverses autres actions merveilleuses et, enfin, sa joie tranquille face la mort. Sachant certainement la bont du saint envers les jeunes filles, Britten recourut un chur de filles (quoique modestement tenu distance) pour augmenter les voix de garons. la cration de luvre, qui se droula non Lancing mais au festival dAldeburgh, les garons de Lancing furent rejoints par les churs des coles de Ardingly, St Michaels et Hurstpierpoint. La partie de tnor solo incarnant Nicolas fut assure, assez logiquement, par Pears. Laccompagnement instrumental, conu pour ne pas dpasser ce quune cole pouvait fournir, et ce que des excutants accomplis pouvaient russir sans peine, est le suivant : duo pianistique, cordes, percussion (pas utilise demble) et orgue. Dans son ouvrage consacr Britten, Peter Evans se livre une analyse dtaille de Saint Nicolas et attire notre attention sur les procds ingnieux qui permirent au compositeur de nouer ensemble des ides apparemment simples, voire naves, et den faire une pice doccasion dcrite par E. M. Forster comme lun de ces triomphes en dehors des rgles de lart . Pour autant, tout est-il aussi impeccable que pourrait le laisser entendre lhommage de Forster ? On peut trouver la section fugue du cinquime mouvement trop longue, mollasse ; et lon est un peu pris de court malgr lincorporation dune hymne clbre, The Old Hundredth ( All people that on earth do dwell ), qui sinscrit dans une prestigieuse ligne remontant aux cantates de Bach et mobilise le public.
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AINT NICOLAS, vque putatif de Myra, est mieux connu des Anglo-Saxons sous le nom de Santa Claus. Bien quayant uvr au IVe sicle, il est un de ces saints mdivaux dont lexistence imprcise est davantage lgendaire que factuelle. Son culte tait bien tabli au VIe sicle, mais il semble quil faille remercier Mthode pour lui avoir attribu, dans sa biographe fictive (IXe sicle), maints miracles et peut-tre, aussi, maintes bonnes actions. Mthode, sans doute soucieux de rajouter lodeur de saintet de son hros, singnia renforcer la frquence du chiffre 3 (le chiffre saint) dans la lgende de Nicolas. En donnant trois sacs dor trois jeunes filles trs pauvres pour les sauver de la prostitution, Nicolas devint le patron des jeunes filles clibataires et aussi, fortuitement, des prteurs sur gages (cette histoire est lorigine des trois balles dor qui sont lemblme de cette corporation). On dit quil aurait galement sauv trois hommes dune mort injuste ; et avoir secouru trois marins en train de se noyer au large de la cte turque lui valut de devenir le saint patron des marins. Mais son uvre sainte entre toutes, celle qui fit de lui le protecteur des enfants et le plus aim des saints, fut la rsurrection de trois garonnets saumurs par un cruel boucher, en temps de famine. Saint Nicolas est, par ailleurs, le protecteur des marchands, des parfumeurs et des apothicaires. Aux XIe et XIIe sicles, son culte fut particulirement vivace en Angleterre. Anselm et Godric lui crivirent des prires (Godric mit mme la sienne en musique). Le culte des saints eut beau dcliner aprs la Rforme, celui-ci subsista et Nicolas, mtamorphos par son lien avec Nol et par sa distribution de cadeaux aux enfants mritants, devint luniversel Santa Claus. Associ aux jeunes garons et aux marcharnds, Nicolas fit un thme tout trouv pour la pice que Benjamin Britten eut crire en 1948 pour le centenaire du Lancing Collegeune commande laquelle Peter Pears, ancien lve du collge, ne fut certainement pas tranger. Eric Crozier, qui avait

En revanche, deux pisodes sont porter lactif de cette uvre : la musique temptueuse du quatrime mouvement, ralise avec des moyens relativement simples, bien de Britten et trs efficace ; et la version chorale, inspire, du Nunc dimittis, en contrepoint au solo de tnor, quand Nicolas grille de rencontrer Dieu. Ici, la musique module avec une ingniosit remarquable daisance et aurait pu paratre doucereuse si elle navait t dun tel charme limpide. Mais cette magie, hlas, stiole lapparition dun second choral , God moves in a mysterious way . Malgr lclat que Britten a pu donner ses harmonies banales, cette hymne, qui survient comme lapoge de luvre, menace srieusement le climat motionnel cr auparavant. En mai 1939, Britten et Pears partirent pour lAmrique dans le sillage de leur ami, le pote W. H. Auden, avec lequel le compositeur avait commenc travailler en 1936, lpoque de la GPO (Poste britannique) Film Unit. Cette collaboration avait t fructueuse, et elle le resta encore un peu, mais, en 1942, le musicien conservateur, devenu tranger au bohmianisme dAuden, ne gota plus le penchant de ce dernier pour la gymnastique verbale (patente dans Paul Bunyan, par exemple). Bientt, Britten se sentit dracin et eut de plus en plus le mal du pays : au printemps de 1942, pousss par la dcouverte fortuite dun article de E. M. Forster sur le pote Crabbe, Pears et lui dcidrent de rentrer en Angleterre. Britten quitta lAmrique en mme temps quil rompit pour de bon avec linfluence dAuden, dont il entreprit cependant de mettre en musique, juste avant de partir, les trois pomes A Song to Saint Cecilia , qui lui tait ddis (il tait n le 22 novembre, jour de la Sainte-Ccile). Mais il ne parvint pas lachever. La traverse savra, nanmoins, thrapeutique :

son imagination crative se remit en marche et lHymn to Saint Cecilia fut acheve, comme le dclare la partition, en mer linstar dA Ceremony of Carols. Ces deux uvres incarnent, en un sens, une fin et un nouveau commencement. La mise en musique des textes de Auden marque ainsi la fin de lattrait pour les rimes pineuses tout en mettant un terme aux accusations de fausse sophistication et de trop grande facilit dont avaient parfois t accables les premires uvres de Britten. Quant aux carols mdivaux, ils marquent le retour quelque chose de foncirement anglais, de profondment enracin, de familier et de conservateur, au meilleur sens du terme. LHymn to Saint Cecilia est crite pour un chur a cappella cinq parties. Les trois pomes ( In a garden shady , I cannot grow et O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall ) sont relis par la litanie :
Bienheureuse Ccile, apparais en vision tous les musiciens, apparais et inspire-les ; Fille transfre au ciel, descend et stupfie Les mortels compositeurs dun feu immortel.

certains moments de son dernier pome, Auden, comme Dryden avant lui, fait rfrence des instruments spcifiquesviolon, flte, timbale et trompette, mais Britten, qui ne dispose pas dorchestre, vite soigneusement toute tentative dimitation, prfrant insrer de courtes cadenzas solo isoles, la fonction double : suggrer une source instrumentale et, paralllement, ce qui est le plus important, faire porter lattention de lauditeur sur les vers dAuden les plus chargs dmotion. Une reprise du quatrain Blessed Cecilia parachve cette uvre intense et inventive.
KENNETH DOMMETT 1988
Traduction HYPERION

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Note sur lenregistrement Un mot dexplication simpose quant aux nombreux churs impliqus dans cet enregistrement de Saint Nicolas. Dans lensemble, nous avons distribu les forces vocales comme sur le disque ralis par Britten en 1955. Deux churs se sont joints au chur mixte principal (les Corydon Singers, qui chantent aussi lHymn to Saint Cecilia) : un chur de filles en guise de gallery choir (les sopranos et les altos du Warwick University Chamber Choir, avec Simon Hasley comme chef assistant) et un chur de garons (les choristes de St Georges Chapel Windsor, dont est issu le treble solo, Harry Briggs) pour les deux sections voquant la naissance et lenfance de Nicolas (qui peuvent verser dans laffectation quand elles sont chantes par des adultes !), ainsi que pour les parties solo du jeune Nicolas et des garons saumurs. Les trois churs se rejoignent pour les deux hymnes, avec les filles de Warwick et les garons de Windsor dchantant, depuis les deux bouts de lglise, sur All people that on earth do dwell .

Enfin, aucun enregistrement de Saint Nicolas ne saurait tre complet nos yeux sans une assemble runie pour les deux hymnes (une part essentielle de toute excution, mais omise par les prcdents enregistrements commerciaux, srement pour des raisons pratiques). Aussi de substantiels contingents issus de cinq autres churs se sont-ils masss, avec nombre damis et de relations, dans le coin restant de All Hallows Church pour la sance finale ; lassemble runit donc des chanteurs des churs de Sevenoaks School et de Tonbridge School, du Choir of Christ Church, Southgate, de The Penshurst Choral Society, de The Occasional Choir ainsi que des amis.
MATTHEW BEST
Traduction HYPERION

Si vous souhaitez de plus amples dtails sur ces enregistrements, et sur les nombreuses autres publications du label Hyperion, veuillez nous crire Hyperion Records Ltd, PO Box 25, London SE9 1AX, England, ou nous contacter par courrier lectronique info@hyperion-records.co.uk, et nous serons ravis de vous faire parvenir notre catalogue gratuitement. Le catalogue Hyprion est galement accessible sur Internet : www.hyperion-records.co.uk 12

BRITTEN

Saint Nicolas & Hymn to Saint Cecilia

seinerzeit ein Schler in diesem College war, spielte wohl eine Rolle dabei, ihm diesen Auftrag zu sichern. Eric Crozier, der bereits als Regisseur von The Rape of Lucretia und Librettist von Albert Herring mit Britten assoziiert wear, lieferte den Text fr das erste Werk des Komponisten fr Kinderstimmen. Crozier whlte acht Episoden aus der Geschichte von Nikolausseine erstaunliche Frmmigkeit von Geburt an, seine Berufung zum geistlichen Leben, seine Rettung der Seeleute auf dem Weg nach Palstina, seine Wahl zum Bischof von Myra, seine Verhaftung unter Diokletian, seine Wiederbelebung der drei Knaben und andere Wundertaten und Zuletzt seine stille Freude im Angesicht des Todes. Und Britten, der sich zweifellos Nikolaus Gte gegenber unverheirateten Mdchen bewusst war, setzte einen Mdchenchor (wenn auch in geziemendem Abstand) zur Verstrkung der Knabenstimmen ein. In der Urauffhrung, die allerdings auf dem Aldeburgh Festival stattfand und nicht in Lancing, wurden die Knaben aus Lancing durch Chre aus den Schulen von Ardingly, St. Michaels und Hurstpierpoint verstrkt. Die Solotenorpartie, die Nikolaus reprsentiert, wurde natrlich von Peter Pears gesungen. Die Instrumentalbegleitung, die so angelegt war, dass sie innerhalb der Mglichkeiten blieb, die einer Schule zur Verfgung standen und die versierte Spieler sicher bewltigen konnten, besteht aus Klavierduett, Streichern, Schlagzeug (das nicht unmittelbar verwendet wird) und Orgel. Peter Evans bietet in seinem Buch ber den Komponisten eine grndliche Analyse von Saint Nicolas, und macht uns besonders auf die vielen einfallsreichen Mittel aufmerksam, durch die Britten die oberflchlich betrachtet schlichten, manchmal naiven Ideen verwebt und sie in ein Gelegenheitsstck verwandelt, das E. M. Forster als einen der Triumphe auerhalb der Regeln der Kunst bezeichnet. Ist aber alles so makellos, wie Forsters Tribut anzudeuten scheint? Der Fugenabschnitt des fnften Satzes knnte als berspannt und eher schwach angesehen werden, und obwohl die Aufnahme einer wohlbekannten Hymne, The Old
13

ANKT NIKOLAUS, der mutmaliche Bischof von Myra, ist uns auch als der Weihnachtsmann oder im englischsprachigen Raum als Santa Claus bekannt. Er florierte im 4. Jahrhundert, gehrt aber zu den Heiligen, deren schattenhafte Existenz eher Legende als Tatsache ist. Obwohl sein Kult sich schon bis zum 6. Jahrhundert gut etabliert hatte, scheinen wir Methodius romanhafter Biographie aus dem 9. Jahrhundert die Zuschreibung seiner vielen Wundertaten und vielleicht auch die meisten seiner guten Taten zu verdanken. Methodius, der zweifellos auf, eine parfmierte Version der Heiligkeit seines Helden aus war, strengte sich an, das Vorkommen der Zahl drei (der heiligen Zahl) in der Nikolauslegende zu betonen. Durch seine Gabe von drei Beuteln Gold an drei arme Mdchen, um sie vor der Prostitution zu bewahren, wurde er gleichzeitig der Schutzheilige unverheirateter Mdchen und der Pfandleiher, denn diese Geschichte ist der Ursprung der drei goldenen Kugeln in ihrem Zunftschild. Er soll drei Mnner vor einem ungerechten Tode bewahrt haben, und die Rettung von drei Matrosen vor dem Ertrinken an der trkischen Kste machte ihn zum Schutzpatron der Seefahrer. Aber eine seiner bemerkenswertesten Heiligtaten machte Nikolaus zum Schutzheiligen der Kinder und beliebtesten Heiligendie Auferweckung von drei Knaben, die ein grausamer Metzger in einer Zeit der Hungersnot gettet und eingepkelt hatte. Auerdem ist Nikolaus auch Schirmherr der Kaufleute, Parfmeure und Apotheker. Im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert war sein Kult in England besonders stark. Anselm und Godric verfassten Gebete fr ihn, und Godric setze seines in Musik. Obwohl der Heiligenkult nach der Reformation nachlie, berlebte Nikolaus und wurde durch seine Assoziation mit Weihnachten und Geschenken an brave Kinder in den universellen Weihnachtsmann umgemodelt. Nikolaus Verbindung mit Knaben und Kaufleuten machte ihn zum perfekten Sujet als das Lancing College 1948 sein hundertjhriges Jubilum feierte und Benjamin Britten gebeten wurde, etwas zu diesem Anlass zu schreiben. Peter Pears, der

Hundredth (dichterische Fassung des 100. Psalms All people that on earth do dwell/Alle, die auf Erden leben) einer langen Tradition folgt, die auf die Kantaten Bachs zurck geht, und dem Publikum etwas Solides zu verdauen gibt, ist sie etwas abrupt. Auf der Plusseite finden sich die typisch brittensche und uerst wirkungsvolle Sturmmusik des vierten Satzes, die durch relativ schlichte Mittel erreicht wird, und der Chorsatz des Nunc dimittis im Kontrapunkt zum Tenorsolo fr Nikolaus Vorfreude auf die Begegnung mit Gott ist inspiriert. Die Musik moduliert hier mit mheloser Raffinesse und knnte als zu glatt erscheinen, wenn sie nicht von solch transparenter Anmut erfllt wre. Aber der Zauber wird leider durch einen zweiten Choral, die Hymne God moves in a mysterious way (Die Wege des Herrn sind unergrndlich) gebrochen. Trotz des Glanzes, den Britten seinen banalen Harmonien verleiht, gefhrdet diese Schluss-Steigerung des Werkes das frher geschaffene emotionale Klima des Werkes. Im Mai 1939 folgten Britten und Pears ihrem Dichterfreund W. H. Auden nach Amerika. Die professionelle Beziehung zwischen Auden und Britten datiert auf 1936 und die Filmabteilung der englischen Post zurck. Diese war fruchtbar und sollte eine Zeitlang so bleiben, aber 1942 hatte sich der konservative Musiker dem unkonventionellen Lebenswandel des Bohemiens Auden entfremdet, und fand die Vorliebe des Dichters fr Wortgymnastik (wie etwa in Paul Bunyan) nicht mehr nach seinem Geschmack. Britten fhlte sich zunehmend entwurzelt und litt an Heimweh. Im Frhjahr 1942, durch die zufllige Entdeckung von E. M. Forsters Artikel ber den Dichter Crabbe angeregt, kehrte er mit Pears in die Heimat zurck. Die Abreise aus Amerika fiel mit Brittens endgltiger Abnabelung von Audens Einfluss zusammen, aber kurz bevor er ging, begann er an einer Vertonung von Audens drei Gedichten A Song to St Cecilia (Ein Lied an die Heilige Ccilia). Diese waren ihm gewidmet (Brittens Geburtstag fiel auf den Ccilientag am 22, November), aber er fand, dass er das Werk nicht fertigstellen konnte. Die Reise erwies sich
14

jedoch als therapeutisch, seine kreative Erfindungskraft begann wieder zu funktionieren und die Hymn to St Cecilia (wie auch A Ceremony of Carols) wurde, wie die Partitur verkndet, auf See vollendet. In gewissem Sinne verkrpern diese beiden Werke einen Abschluss und Neuanfang. Die Auden-Vertonung reprsentiert das Ende der Begeisterung fr trickreiche Reime und macht der falschen Kultiviertheit und aalglatten Gewandtheit ein Ende, die Brittens frhen Werken oft vorgeworfen wird. Die mittelalterlichen Weihnachtslieder andererseits signalisieren die Rckkehr zu etwas fundamental Englischem, tief Verwurzelten, Vertrauten und im besten Sinne des Wortes Konservativem. Die Hymn to St Cecilia (Ccilienhymne) ist fr fnfstimmigen Chor a cappella gesetzt. Die drei Gedichte In a garden shady, I cannot grow und O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall werden durch folgende Litanei verknpft:
Heilige Ccilia, erscheine in Visionen Allen Musikern, erscheine und beflgle sie; entrckte Tochter, komm herab und fache komponierende Sterbliche mit unsterblichem Feuer an.

An gewissen Stellen in diesem letzten Gedicht erwhnt Auden, wie Dryden vor ihm, bestimmte InstrumenteVioline, Flte, Pauken und Trompetenaber Britten, der kein Orchester hatte, widerstand sorgfltig aller Versuchung, sie nachzuahmen, und fgt stattdessen kurze, isolierte Solokadenzen ein, die eine doppelte Funktion erfllen: sie deuten eine Instrumentalquelle an, wenden aber besonders die Aufmerksamkeit des Hrers auf Audens gefhlsgeladenste Zeilen. Eine Wiederholung des Vierzeilers Blessed Cecilia bringt dieses konzentrierte und einfallsreiche Werk zum Abschluss.
KENNETH DOMMETT 1988
bersetzung RENATE WENDEL

Anmerkungen zur Aufnahme Eine Erklrung in Bezug auf die vielen Chre, die an dieser Aufnahme von St Nicolas beteiligt sind, ist ntig: Unsere Verteilung der Krfte folgt generell dem Beispiel Brittens in seiner Aufnahme von 1955. Im Zusatz zu einem gemischten Hauptchor (Corydon Singers, die auch die Hymn to St Cecilia singen), werden zwei weitere Chre verwendet: ein Mdchenchor als Emporenchor (Sopran und Alt des Warwick University Chamber Choirs mit Simon Halsey als Unterdirigent) und ein Knabenchor (die Chorknaben der St Georges Chapel, Windsoreinschlielich des Knabensopran-Solisten Harry Briggs) fr den Abschnitt, der die Geburt und Kindheit von Nikolaus schildert (und die im Vortrag von Erwachsenen etwas verschmt klingen kann!) sowie die Solopartien des jungen Nikolaus und den gepkelten Knaben. Alle drei Chre vereinen sich fr die beiden Hymnen, und die Mdchen aus Warwick und die Knaben aus Windsor singen gemeinsam die Oberstimme zu All people that on earth do dwell von entgegengesetzten Enden der Kirche.

Zuletzt finden wir, dass keine Aufnahme von St Nicolas ohne eine Gemeinde fr die beiden Hymnen komplett ist (ein wesentlicher Teil in jeder Auffhrung, aber wohl aus praktischen Grnden in frheren kommerziellen Aufnahmen ausgelassen). Um dies zu erreichen, fllten Mitglieder von fnf weiteren Chren mit vielen Freunden und Verwandten in der letzten Aufnahmesitzung die letzte Ecke der All Hallows Church. Die Gemeinde besteht aus Sngern der Chre der Sevenoaks School und Tonbridge School, dem Choir of Christ Church, Southgate, The Penshurst Choral Society, The Occasional Choir und Freunden.
MATTHEW BEST
bersetzung RENATE WENDEL

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15

CDH55378

tenor ANTHONY ROLFE JOHNSON

treble HARRY BRIGGS

Benjamin Britten
(1913 1976)

CORYDON SINGERS
CHORISTERS OF ST GEORGES CHAPEL, WINDSOR
choirmaster CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON

Saint Nicolas
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 bl

[50'04]

A cantata for tenor solo, mixed chorus, piano duet, organ, strings & percussion, Op 42

GIRLS OF WARWICK UNIVERSITY CHAMBER CHOIR

choirmaster SIMON HALSEY

CONGREGATION
Choirs of Sevenoaks School & Tonbridge School Choir of Christ Church, Southgate Penshurst Choral Society The Occasional Choir

Introduction [5'28] The birth of Nicolas [2'34] Nicolas devotes himself to God [4'50] He journeys to Palestine [7'58] Nicolas comes to Myra and is chosen Bishop [6'55] Nicolas from Prison [2'50] Nicolas and the pickled boys [6'34] His piety and marvellous works [5'16] The death of Nicolas [7'06]

piano duet CATHERINE EDWARDS, JOHN ALLEY organ JOHN SCOTT

Hymn to Saint Cecilia

[9'56]

ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

leader JOS-LUIS GARCIA

for five-part unaccompanied chorus, Op 27

conductor MATTHEW BEST

NOTES EN FRANAIS + MIT DEUTSCHEM KOMMENTAR

HELIOS CDH55378

A very fine recording (Gramophone) A fresh and atmospheric account of Brittens colourful cantata (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

CDH55378
Duration 60'14

BRITTEN SAINT NICOLAS . HYMN TO SAINT CECILIA ROLFE JOHNSON . CORYDON SINGERS . ECO . MATTHEW BEST

Benjamin Britten
1

(1913 1976)

BRITTEN SAINT NICOLAS . HYMN TO SAINT CECILIA ROLFE JOHNSON . CORYDON SINGERS . ECO . MATTHEW BEST

Saint Nicolas

[50'04]

A cantata for tenor solo, mixed chorus, piano duet, organ, strings & percussion, Op 42

bl

Hymn to Saint Cecilia

for five-part unaccompanied chorus, Op 27
HARRY BRIGGS treble

[9'56]

ANTHONY ROLFE JOHNSON tenor

A HYPERION RECORDING

CORYDON SINGERS
CHORISTERS OF ST GEORGES CHAPEL, WINDSOR GIRLS OF WARWICK UNIVERSITY CHAMBER CHOIR CATHERINE EDWARDS, JOHN ALLEY piano duet JOHN SCOTT organ

DDD

MADE IN ENGLAND

ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA MATTHEW BEST conductor

Recorded in All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, on 7 and 8 October 1988 Recording Engineer ANTONY HOWELL Recording Producer MARK BROWN Executive Producer EDWARD PERRY P Hyperion Records Ltd, London, 1989 C Hyperion Records Ltd, London, 2009 (Originally issued on Hyperion CDA66333) Front illustration: The Story of St Nicolas by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (d1348) Uffizi Gallery, Florence

HELIOS CDH55378