A boy was born
A Boy was Born (“A Boy Was Born”), Op. 3, is a composition for choir a cappella by Benjamin Britten , Choral variations for men's, women's and boys 'voices, unaccompanied (organ ad lib) (choir variations for unaccompanied male, female and boys' voices, organ ad lib ). Britten composed the early work in 1932/1933 as a student. He set various texts related to Christmas to music and dedicated the composition to his father. A Boy Was Born premiered on February 23, 1934 on a BBC broadcast . Britten revised the work in 1955.
The Variationenwerk is Britten's first major choral work, his first mature work with spiritual content and his first poetic anthology (“poetry anthology”). In 2013, Britten's 100th birthday festivals were named after the composition.
history
Britten composed A Boy was Born at the age of 19 as a student at the Royal College of Music between November 25, 1932 and May 11, 1933. It was his last study project, his first major choral work and his first mature work with sacred content . He dedicated it to his father.
A Boy Was Born deals with ten different texts as a theme with six variations, most of which date from the 15th century, while one was written by Christina Rossetti in the 19th century. The work is Britten's first in the form of a poetic anthology (poetry anthology). Britten had previously preferred Variations, for example he had composed a number of them that were later completed as Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge . His later piano concerto also contains variations, and his opera The Turn of the Screw is based on the principle of variation.
| Movement set | title | translation | Author / time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theme | A boy was born | "A boy was born" | Anonymous, 16th century |
| Variation 1 | Lullay, Jesus | "Sleep, Jesus" | Anonymous, before 1536 |
| Variation 2 | Herod | "Herod" | Anonymous, before 1529 |
| Variation 3 | Jesu, as Thou art our Savior | "Jesus, since you are our Savior" | Anonymous, 15th century |
| Variation 4 | The Three Kings | "The three kings" | Anonymous, 15th century |
| Variation 5 | In the Bleak Midwinter | "In the middle of the cold winter" | Christina Rossetti |
| Corpus Christi Carol | "Corpus Christi song" | Anonymous, before 1536 | |
| Variation 6 (Finale) | Noel !, Welcome Yule | “Noel! Welcome, Yule Festival " | Anonymous, 16th century |
| Christmas | "Christmas" | Thomas Tusser | |
| A Christmas Carol | "A Christmas song" | Francis Quarles |
A Boy Was Born was first performed on February 23, 1934 in a BBC contemporary music radio concert. Leslie Woodgate conducted the Wireless Chorus (later BBC Singers ) and Choirboys at St Mark's, North Audley Street, London.
A performance lasts approximately 32 minutes. The work is one of the first compositions by Britten to be published and was initially published by Chester Music. Britten revised it in 1955. This version was first heard on November 22, 1955, the composer's birthday. The Purcell Singers sang in London's Grosvenor Chapel , led by Imogen Holst . Britten himself conducted a recording with Michael Hartnett (boy soprano), the Purcell Singers , boys' voices from the English Opera Group and the All Saints Church Choir , Margaret Street, London. Ralph Downes added an organ part in 1957/1958.
In 2013, A Boy Was Born was performed as part of The Proms as part of Britten's 100th birthday celebrations by the BBC Singers and the Temple Church Choir , directed by David Hill. Festivals in Sheffield and Birmingham in 2013 was named after the composition.
music
In his complex work, Britten showed his abilities in composition and word handling. The six variations are based on a theme in four tones on the opening words, which is sung by the soprano.
The musicologist Paul Spicer notes that the key of D, as in many of Britten's works , can be understood both modal and diatonic . He mentions Alban Berg as a composer who influenced Britten's variation techniques such as enlarging and mirroring motifs .
The first variation is a dialogue between Mother Mary (women's voices) and the child (boys' voices). Variation 2 deals with child murder in Bethlehem in bulky rhythms that change and distort the subject. In Variation 3, a partial choir sings the text of Jesus, as Thou art our savior , while a boy only throws in the call of Jesus as melisma four times . Variation 4 on the Three Kings brings the theme to the narrative as a wordless background and thus creates the image of a distant procession. Variation 5 for only the upper voices begins with Rossetti's In the Bleak Midwinter , sung by the female voices, whose secondary rubbings suggest the cold and falling lines of falling snow, while the boys contrast a simple movement of the well-known Corpus Christi song like folk music. Variation 6 begins as a lively rondo for eight voices, followed by reprises of earlier variations and, finally, the opening theme.
The composition places high demands on a choir. Spicer mentions that the boys' choir should be set up as far away as possible, but not too far to allow contrast and fine interaction between the groups.
Web links
- Listening to Britten - A boy was born, Op.3 goodmorningbritten.wordpress.com, June 8, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Paul Spicer: A Boy was Born in Britten Choral Guide with Repertoire Notes by Paul Spicer ( en , PDF) Boosey & Hawkes . Pp. 4-5. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- ↑ a b A Boy was Born ( en ) brittenproject.org. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- ↑ Stephen Sieck: A Boy was Born: An Examination of the Stylistic Influences on the Young Benjamin Britten ( en , PDF) The Choral Scholar. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ↑ a b Joseph Stevenson: A Boy Was Born, choral variations for mixed voices, Op. 3 ( en ) Allmusic . Retrieved November 22, 2013.
- ↑ a b c A Boy was Born ( en ) Britten-Pears Foundation. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ↑ a b c d e Michael Oliver: Benjamin Britten . Phaidon, 1996, p. 39, 40, 69, 216 (English).
- ↑ Prom 70: Britten & Lloyd ( en ) BBC . Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ Daniel Jaffé: BBC Proms: Britten and George Lloyd performed by the BBC Singers ( en ) BBC Music Magazine. September 7, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ↑ A Boy was Born / Celebrating Britten's Centenary in Birmingham ( en ) birminghambritten.wordpress.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ Anthony Milner: The Choral Music . In: Christopher Palmer (Ed.): The Britten Companion . Faber, 1984, p. 330 (English).