BENJAMIN BRITTEN

BrittenSAINT NICOLAS

HYMN TO SAINT CECILIAAnthony Rolfe Johnson

Corydon SingersEnglish Chamber Orchestra

Matthew Best

SAINT NICOLAS, putative Bishop of Myra, is better knownto us as Santa Claus. He flourished during the fourth cen-tury but is one of those medieval saints whose shadowyexistence is more legend than fact. Though his cult waswell established by the sixth century, it seems that we haveMethodiuss fictitious ninth-century biography to thank forcrediting him with his many miracles, and perhaps with mostof his good deeds too.

Methodius, no doubt anxious to add perfume to the odourof his heros sanctity, was at pains to emphasize the incidenceof the number three (the holy number) in Nicolass legend. Byhis gift of three bags of gold to three impoverished girls to savethem from prostitution he became patron of unmarried girls,and also, coincidentally, of pawnbrokers, for this story is theorigin of the three gold balls that are the pawnbrokers insignia.He is credited with saving three men from an unjust death; andthe rescue of three drowning sailors off the coast of Turkeymade him patron saint of sailors. But not the least of his holyworks is the one which made Nicolas the protector of childrenand most beloved of saintsthe restoration to life of threelittle boys pickled in brine by a vicious butcher in time offamine. In addition to these diverse patronages Nicolas is alsothe protector of merchants, perfumiers, and apothecaries.

During the eleventh and twelfth centuries his cult wasparticularly strong in England. Anselm and Godric composedprayers to him, and Godric set his to music. Though the cult ofsaints went into decline following the Reformation, Nicolasssurvived and he became transmogrified by his association withChristmas and the giving of presents to deserving children intothe universal Santa Claus.

Nicolass association with boys and merchants made himthe perfect choice of subject when, in 1948, Lancing Collegecelebrated its centenary and asked Benjamin Britten to writesomething specially for the occasion. Peter Pears, a one-timepupil of the College, probably had something to do withsecuring the commission. Eric Crozier, already associated withBritten as producer of The Rape of Lucretia and librettist of

Albert Herring, furnished the text of what turned out to be thecomposers first important work for childrens voices. Crozierselected eight episodes from Nicolass storyhis prodigiouspiety at birth, his call to the holy life, his saving of the sailorson his way to Palestine, his election to the bishopric of Myra,his imprisonment under Diocletian, his restoration to life of thethree boys and other marvellous deeds, and finally his tranquiljoy in the face of death. And Britten, no doubt aware ofNicolass kindness to unmarried girls, drew on the services ofa girls choir (albeit modestly distanced) to augment the boysvoices. At the first performance, which actually took placeat the Aldeburgh Festival and not at Lancing, the Lancingboys were joined by choirs from Ardingly, St Michaels andHurstpierpoint Schools. The solo tenor part representingNicolas was sung, naturally enough, by Pears. The instrumen-tal accompaniment, designed to remain within the compassof what a school could provide and accomplished playerscomfortably manage, consists of piano duet, strings,percussion (not immediately used) and organ.

Peter Evans, in his book about the composer, has madea comprehensive analysis of Saint Nicolas, drawing ourattention to the many ingenious devices by which Britten knitstogether what superficially appear to be simple, sometimesnaive, ideas, making out of them a pice doccasion whichE M Forster described as one of those triumphs outside therules of art.

Is everything as faultless, though, as Forsters tributemight suggest? The fugal section of the fifth movement couldbe thought over-extended and rather limp, and though theincorporation of a well-known hymn, The Old Hundredth (Allpeople that on earth do dwell), has a distinguished pedigreegoing back to the cantatas of Bach and gives the audiencesomething 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 andhighly effective, and the choral setting of the Nunc dimittis incounterpoint to the tenor solo as Nicolas looks forward to

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meeting God is inspired. Here the music modulates witheffortless ingenuity and might have seemed slick had it notbeen of such transparent loveliness. But the magic isdisappointingly diffused by the appearance of a secondchorale, the hymn God moves in a mysterious way. Despitethe gloss Britten has put upon its mundane harmonies, this,coming as the climax to the work, seriously threatens theemotional climate created earlier.

In May 1939 Britten departed with Pears for America in thewake of their poet friend W H Auden. The professionalassociation between Auden and Britten dated back to 1936and the GPO Film Unit. It had been a fruitful one and was toremain so a little longer, but by 1942 the conservativemusician had become alienated from Audens brand ofbohemianism, and was beginning to find the poets penchantfor verbal gymnastics (much in evidence in Paul Bunyan forexample) no longer to his taste. Britten began to feel rootlessand increasingly homesick. At last, spurred on by the chancediscovery of E M Forsters article on the poet Crabbe in theSpring of 1942, he and Pears decided to return home.

The departure from America coincided with Brittens finalseverance from Audens influence, but just before he left hebegan work on a setting of Audens three poems A Song to StCecilia. These were dedicated to him (Brittens birthday fell onSt Cecilias Day, 22 November), but he found himself unable tocomplete 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 worksrepresent an end and a new beginning. The Auden settingsignifies the end of the appeal of tricksy rhyming, and puts afinal closure to the charges of false sophistication and glibfacility that had sometimes been levelled at Brittens earlywork. The medieval carols on the other hand signal the returnto something fundamentally English, deep rooted, familiar, andconservative in the best sense.

The Hymn to St Cecilia is set for five-part unaccompaniedchorus. The three poems, In a garden shady, I cannot grow,and O ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall are linked bythe litany

Blessed Cecilia, appear in visionsTo all musicians, appear and inspire:Translated Daughter, come down and startleComposing mortals with immortal fire.

At certain junctures in his final poem Auden, like Dryden beforehim, refers to specific instrumentsviolin, flute, drum andtrumpetbut Britten, having no orchestra, studiously avoidsany temptation to imitate, inserting instead short isolated solocadenzas which serve the dual purpose of suggesting aninstrumental source while, more importantly, directing thelisteners attention to some of Audens most powerfullyemotive lines. A repeat of the Blessed Cecilia quatrain bringsthis concentrated and imaginative work to a close.

KENNETH DOMMETT 1988

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A note on the recordingA word of explanation should be included concerning the manychoirs involved in this recording of St Nicolas.

Our distribution of forces generally follows the example setby Britten in his recording of 1955. In addition to a mixed choirfor the main chorus (Corydon Singers, who also sing the Hymnto Saint Cecilia), two other choirs are used: a girls choir as thegallery choir (the sopranos and altos from Warwick UniversityChamber Choir, with Simon Halsey as subconductor), and aboys choir (the choristers of St Georges Chapel, Windsorofwhom the treble soloist, Harry Briggs, is one) for both thesection depicting the birth and childhood of Nicolas (which cansound a little coy when sung by grown-ups!) and for the soloparts of young Nicolas and the pickled boys. All three choirsjoin for the two hymns, with the Warwick girls and the Windsorboys both singing the descant to All people that on earth dodwell from opposite ends of the church.

Finally, we felt that no recording of Saint Nicolas wouldbe complete without a congregation for the two hymns (anessential part of any performance but omitted, presumably forpractical reasons, from previous commercial recordings). Inorder to achieve this, substantial contingents from a furtherfive choirs, together with numerous friends and relations,packed into the remaining corner of All Hallows Church for thefinal session. The congregation is made up of singers from thechoirs of Sevenoaks School and Tonbridge School, the Choir ofChrist Church, Southgate, The Penshurst Choral Society, TheOccasional Choir and friends.

MATTHEW BEST

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SAINT NICOLASA cantata, Op 42, for tenor solo, mixed chorus, piano duet,

organ, strings & percussion (timpani, side drum, bassdrum, tenor drum, cymbal, triangle, gong, whip, tambourine)

Text by Eric Crozier (19141994). Copyright 1948 by Boosey& Co. Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Boosey & HawkesMusic Publishers Ltd

Published by Boosey & Hawkes Ltd

1 IntroductionCHORUS Our eyes are blinded by the holiness you bear.The bishops robe, the mitre and the cross of goldObscure the simple man within the Saint.Strip off your glory, Nicolas, and speak!NICOLAS Across the tremendous bridge of sixteen hundred yearsI come to stand in worship with youAs I stood among my faithful congregation long ago.All who knelt beside me then are gone.

SAINT NICOLASTheir name is dust, their tombs are grass and clay,Yet still their shining seed of faith survivesIn you!It weathers time, it springs againIn you!With you it stands like forest oakOr withers with the grasses underfoot.Preserve the living Faith for which your fathers fought!For Faith was won by centuries of sacrificeAnd many martyrs diedThat you might worship God.CHORUS Help us, Lord! to find the hidden roadThat leads from love to greater Love, from faithTo greater Faith.Strengthen us, O Lord!Screw up our strength to serve Thee with simplicity.

2 The birth of NicolasCHORUS Nicolas was born in answer to prayer,And leaping from his mothers womb he criedNICOLAS God be glorified!CHORUS Swaddling-bands and crib awaited him there,But Nicolas clapped both his hands and criedNICOLAS 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 criedNICOLAS 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!

3 Nicolas devotes himself to GodNICOLAS My parents diedAll too soon I left the tranquil beauty of their homeAnd knew the wider world of man.Poor man! I found him solitary, rackedBy doubt: born, bred, doomed to dieIn everlasting fear of everlasting death:The foolish toy of time, the darling of decayHopeless, 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 charityBut Love demanded more.

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Heartsick, I cast away all things that could distract my mindFrom full devotion to His will;I thrust my happiness behindBut 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 humilityAnd Love was satisfied.

4 He journeys to PalestineCHORUS Nicolas sailed for PalestineAcross 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 cameWhen up he stood and stopped their gameOf staking coins on cards.Nicolas spoke and prophesiedA 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 keepHis course with one of the crew.Nicolas swore hed punish themFor mocking at the Lord.The wind arose, the thunder roared,Lightning split the waves that pouredIn wild cascades on board.

Waterspouts rose in majestyUntil the ship was tossedAbaft, 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 cryOf 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 asunderWith its savage shouts of wonder! Ah!Pray to God! Kneel and pray!Lightning, Thunder, Tempest, OceanPraise their God with voice and motion.Nicolas waited patiently,Till they were on their knees,Then down he knelt in thankfulnessBegging God their ship to blessAnd 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 harmAnd all creation sang a psalmOf loving thankfulness.

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Beneath the stars the sailors sleptExhausted by their fear, while I Knelt down for love of God on highAnd saw His angels in the skySmile down at me, And wept, wept, and wept.

5 Nicolas comes to Myra and is chosen BishopCHORUS 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 PrisonNICOLAS Persecution sprang upon our ChurchAnd stilled its voice.Eight barren years it stifled under Roman rule:And I lay bound, condemned to celebrateMy 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 crucifiedTo desecrate your wilderness.Turn away from sin! Ah! bowDown your hard and stubborn hearts!Confess, yourselves to Him in penitenceAnd 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 coldMakes our pangs of hunger grow;O we have far to go!Day by day we seek to findSome 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 knowThat you have far to go!Mary meek and Mother mildWho 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 lieWhom 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 singAlleluia to their King!

8 His piety and marvellous worksCHORUS For forty years our Nicolas,Our Prince of men, our shepherd andOur 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 toThe pleasant hills of grace, he foughtTo fold us in from mortal sin.

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O! he was prodigal of love!A spendthrift in devotion toUs all and blessed as he caressed.We keep his memory alive In legends that our children andTheir childrens children treasure still.A captive at the heathen courtWept 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 fedA hungry multitude.Three daughters of a noblemanWere doomed to shameful sin,Till our good Bishop ransomed themBy throwing purses in.The gates were barred, the black flag flew,Three men knelt by the block,But Nicolas burst in like flameAnd stayed the axes shock.O help us, good Nicolas!Our ship is full of foam!He walked across the waves to themAnd led them safely home.He sat among the Bishops who Were summoned to Nicaea:Then rising with the wrath of GodBoxed Ariuss ear!He threatened Constantine the Great With bell and book and ban:Till Constantine confessed his sinsLike any common man.Let the legends that we tell,Praise him, with our prayers as well.We keep his memory aliveIn legends that our children andTheir childrens children treasure still.

9 The death of NicolasNICOLAS Death, I hear thy summons and I comeIn 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 birthI 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 salvationWhich Thou hast prepared before the face of all peopleTo be a light to lighten the GentilesAnd 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 beWorld without end. Amen!CONGREGATION God moves in a mysterious wayHis wonders to perform;He plants His footsteps in the sea,And rides upon the storm.Deep in unfathomable minesOf never failing skillHe treasures up His bright designs,And works his sovereign will.Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,The clouds ye so much dreadAre big with mercy, and shall breakIn blessings on your head. Amen.

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bl HYMN TO SAINT CECILIA Op 27, for five-part unaccompanied chorusText by W H Auden (19071973)Dedicated to Elizabeth MayerPublished by Boosey & Hawkes Ltd

I In a garden shady this holy ladyWith reverent cadence and subtle psalm,Like a black swan as death came onPoured forth her song in perfect calm:And by oceans margin this innocent virginConstructed an organ to enlarge her prayer,And notes tremendous from her great engineThundered out on the Roman air.Blonde Aphrodite rose up excited,Moved to delight by the melody,White as an orchid she rode quite nakedIn an oyster shell on top of the sea;At sounds so entrancing the angels dancingCame out of their trance into time again,And around the wicked in Hells abyssesThe huge flame flickered and eased their pain.Blessed Cecilia, appear in visionsTo all musicians, appear and inspire:Translated Daughter, come down and startleComposing mortals with immortal fire.

II I cannot grow;I have no shadowTo run away from,I only play.I cannot err;There is no creatureWhom I belong to,Whom I could wrong.I am defeatWhen it knows itCan now do nothingBy suffering.

All you lived through,Dancing because youNo longer need itFor any deed.I shall never beDifferent. Love me.Blessed Cecilia

IIIJANET COXWELL soprano, JENNY YOUDE alto, JOHN BOWEN tenor,

KENNETH ROLES bassO ear whose creatures cannot wish to fall,O calm of spaces unafraid of weight,Where Sorrow is herself, forgetting allThe gaucheness of her adolescent state,Where Hope within the altogether strangeFrom every outworn image is released,And Dread born whole and normal like a beastInto 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 silencesOf 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 sinIs drawn across our trembling violin.O weep, child, weep, O weep away the stain.O law drummed out by hearts against the stillLong winter of our intellectual will.That what has been may never be again.O flute that throbs with the thanksgiving breathOf convalescents on the shores of death.O bless the freedom that you never chose.O trumpets that unguarded children blowAbout the fortress of their inner foe.O wear your tribulation like a rose.Blessed Cecilia

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SAINT NICOLAS, vque putatif de Myra, est mieux connudes Anglo-Saxons sous le nom de Santa Claus. Bienquayant uvr au IVe sicle, il est un de ces saintsmdivaux dont lexistence imprcise est davantage lgen-daire que factuelle. Son culte tait bien tabli au VIe sicle,mais il semble quil faille remercier Mthode pour lui avoirattribu, dans sa biographe fictive (IXe sicle), maints miracleset peut-tre, aussi, maintes bonnes actions.

Mthode, sans doute soucieux de rajouter lodeur desaintet de son hros, singnia renforcer la frquence duchiffre 3 (le chiffre saint) dans la lgende de Nicolas. Endonnant trois sacs dor trois jeunes filles trs pauvres pourles sauver de la prostitution, Nicolas devint le patron desjeunes filles clibataires et aussi, fortuitement, des prteurssur gages (cette histoire est lorigine des trois balles dorqui sont lemblme de cette corporation). On dit quil auraitgalement sauv trois hommes dune mort injuste ; et avoirsecouru trois marins en train de se noyer au large de la cteturque lui valut de devenir le saint patron des marins. Mais sonuvre sainte entre toutes, celle qui fit de lui le protecteurdes enfants et le plus aim des saints, fut la rsurrection detrois garonnets saumurs par un cruel boucher, en temps defamine. Saint Nicolas est, par ailleurs, le protecteur desmarchands, des parfumeurs et des apothicaires.

Aux XIe et XIIe sicles, son culte fut particulirement vivaceen Angleterre. Anselm et Godric lui crivirent des prires(Godric mit mme la sienne en musique). Le culte des saintseut beau dcliner aprs la Rforme, celui-ci subsista etNicolas, mtamorphos par son lien avec Nol et par sadistribution de cadeaux aux enfants mritants, devintluniversel Santa Claus.

Associ aux jeunes garons et aux marcharnds, Nicolas fitun thme tout trouv pour la pice que Benjamin Britten eut crire en 1948 pour le centenaire du Lancing Collegeunecommande laquelle Peter Pears, ancien lve du collge,ne fut certainement pas tranger. Eric Crozier, qui avait

dj travaill avec Britten comme producteur (The Rape ofLucretia) et comme librettiste (Albert Herring), fournit le textede ce qui savra tre la premire grande uvre britteniennepour des voix denfants. Crozier slectionna huit pisodes de lavie de Nicolas : sa prodigieuse pit, ds sa naissance ; sonappel la vie sainte ; son sauvetage des marins, alors quilse rendait en Palestine ; son lection lpiscopat de Myra ;son emprisonnement sous Diocltien ; sa rsurrection des troisgaronnets ; diverses autres actions merveilleuses et, enfin, sajoie tranquille face la mort. Sachant certainement la bont dusaint envers les jeunes filles, Britten recourut un chur defilles (quoique modestement tenu distance) pour augmenterles voix de garons. la cration de luvre, qui se droulanon Lancing mais au festival dAldeburgh, les garons deLancing furent rejoints par les churs des coles de Ardingly,St Michaels et Hurstpierpoint. La partie de tnor soloincarnant Nicolas fut assure, assez logiquement, par Pears.Laccompagnement instrumental, conu pour ne pas dpasserce quune cole pouvait fournir, et ce que des excutantsaccomplis pouvaient russir sans peine, est le suivant : duopianistique, cordes, percussion (pas utilise demble) etorgue.

Dans son ouvrage consacr Britten, Peter Evans se livre une analyse dtaille de Saint Nicolas et attire notreattention sur les procds ingnieux qui permirent aucompositeur de nouer ensemble des ides apparemmentsimples, voire naves, et den faire une pice doccasiondcrite par E. M. Forster comme lun de ces triomphes endehors des rgles de lart .

Pour autant, tout est-il aussi impeccable que pourrait lelaisser entendre lhommage de Forster ? On peut trouver lasection fugue du cinquime mouvement trop longue,mollasse ; et lon est un peu pris de court malgr lincorpor-ation dune hymne clbre, The Old Hundredth ( All peoplethat on earth do dwell ), qui sinscrit dans une prestigieuseligne remontant aux cantates de Bach et mobilise le public.

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BRITTEN Saint Nicolas et Hymn to Saint Cecilia

En revanche, deux pisodes sont porter lactif de cetteuvre : la musique temptueuse du quatrime mouvement,ralise avec des moyens relativement simples, bien deBritten et trs efficace ; et la version chorale, inspire, duNunc dimittis, en contrepoint au solo de tnor, quand Nicolasgrille de rencontrer Dieu. Ici, la musique module avec uneingniosit remarquable daisance et aurait pu paratredoucereuse si elle navait t dun tel charme limpide. Maiscette magie, hlas, stiole lapparition dun second choral , God moves in a mysterious way . Malgr lclatque Britten a pu donner ses harmonies banales, cettehymne, qui survient comme lapoge de luvre, menacesrieusement le climat motionnel cr auparavant.

En mai 1939, Britten et Pears partirent pour lAmriquedans le sillage de leur ami, le pote W. H. Auden, avec lequelle compositeur avait commenc travailler en 1936, lpoque de la GPO (Poste britannique) Film Unit. Cettecollaboration avait t fructueuse, et elle le resta encore unpeu, mais, en 1942, le musicien conservateur, devenu trangerau bohmianisme dAuden, ne gota plus le penchant de cedernier pour la gymnastique verbale (patente dans PaulBunyan, par exemple). Bientt, Britten se sentit dracin et eutde plus en plus le mal du pays : au printemps de 1942,pousss par la dcouverte fortuite dun article de E. M. Forstersur le pote Crabbe, Pears et lui dcidrent de rentrer enAngleterre.

Britten quitta lAmrique en mme temps quil rompit pourde bon avec linfluence dAuden, dont il entreprit cependantde mettre en musique, juste avant de partir, les trois pomes A Song to Saint Cecilia , qui lui tait ddis (il tait n le22 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 SaintCecilia fut acheve, comme le dclare la partition, enmer linstar dA Ceremony of Carols. Ces deux uvresincarnent, en un sens, une fin et un nouveau commencement.La mise en musique des textes de Auden marque ainsi la finde lattrait pour les rimes pineuses tout en mettant un termeaux accusations de fausse sophistication et de trop grandefacilit dont avaient parfois t accables les premiresuvres de Britten. Quant aux carols mdivaux, ils marquentle retour quelque chose de foncirement anglais, deprofondment enracin, de familier et de conservateur, aumeilleur sens du terme.

LHymn to Saint Cecilia est crite pour un chur a cappella cinq parties. Les trois pomes ( In a garden shady , Icannot 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 stupfieLes mortels compositeurs dun feu immortel.

certains moments de son dernier pome, Auden, commeDryden avant lui, fait rfrence des instruments spci-fiquesviolon, flte, timbale et trompette, mais Britten,qui ne dispose pas dorchestre, vite soigneusement toutetentative dimitation, prfrant insrer de courtes cadenzassolo isoles, la fonction double : suggrer une source instru-mentale et, paralllement, ce qui est le plus important, faireporter lattention de lauditeur sur les vers dAuden les pluschargs dmotion. Une reprise du quatrain Blessed Cecilia parachve cette uvre intense et inventive.

KENNETH DOMMETT 1988Traduction HYPERION

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Note sur lenregistrementUn mot dexplication simpose quant aux nombreux chursimpliqus dans cet enregistrement de Saint Nicolas.

Dans lensemble, nous avons distribu les forces vocalescomme sur le disque ralis par Britten en 1955. Deux chursse sont joints au chur mixte principal (les Corydon Singers,qui chantent aussi lHymn to Saint Cecilia) : un chur de fillesen guise de gallery choir (les sopranos et les altos duWarwick University Chamber Choir, avec Simon Hasley commechef assistant) et un chur de garons (les choristes de StGeorges Chapel Windsor, dont est issu le treble solo, HarryBriggs) pour les deux sections voquant la naissance etlenfance de Nicolas (qui peuvent verser dans laffectationquand elles sont chantes par des adultes !), ainsi que pour lesparties solo du jeune Nicolas et des garons saumurs. Lestrois churs se rejoignent pour les deux hymnes, avec les fillesde Warwick et les garons de Windsor dchantant, depuis lesdeux bouts de lglise, sur All people that on earth do dwell .

Enfin, aucun enregistrement de Saint Nicolas ne sauraittre complet nos yeux sans une assemble runie pour lesdeux hymnes (une part essentielle de toute excution, maisomise par les prcdents enregistrements commerciaux,srement pour des raisons pratiques). Aussi de substantielscontingents issus de cinq autres churs se sont-ils masss,avec nombre damis et de relations, dans le coin restant de AllHallows Church pour la sance finale ; lassemble runitdonc des chanteurs des churs de Sevenoaks School etde Tonbridge School, du Choir of Christ Church, Southgate, deThe Penshurst Choral Society, de The Occasional Choir ainsique des amis.

MATTHEW BESTTraduction HYPERION

12

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SANKT NIKOLAUS, der mutmaliche Bischof von Myra, istuns auch als der Weihnachtsmann oder im englisch-sprachigen Raum als Santa Claus bekannt. Er florierteim 4. Jahrhundert, gehrt aber zu den Heiligen, derenschattenhafte Existenz eher Legende als Tatsache ist. Obwohlsein Kult sich schon bis zum 6. Jahrhundert gut etabliert hatte,scheinen wir Methodius romanhafter Biographie aus dem 9.Jahrhundert die Zuschreibung seiner vielen Wundertaten undvielleicht auch die meisten seiner guten Taten zu verdanken.

Methodius, der zweifellos auf, eine parfmierte Version derHeiligkeit seines Helden aus war, strengte sich an, dasVorkommen der Zahl drei (der heiligen Zahl) in der Nikolaus-legende zu betonen. Durch seine Gabe von drei Beuteln Gold andrei arme Mdchen, um sie vor der Prostitution zu bewahren,wurde er gleichzeitig der Schutzheilige unverheirateterMdchen und der Pfandleiher, denn diese Geschichte ist derUrsprung der drei goldenen Kugeln in ihrem Zunftschild. Er solldrei Mnner vor einem ungerechten Tode bewahrt haben, unddie Rettung von drei Matrosen vor dem Ertrinken an dertrkischen Kste machte ihn zum Schutzpatron der Seefahrer.Aber eine seiner bemerkenswertesten Heiligtaten machteNikolaus zum Schutzheiligen der Kinder und beliebtestenHeiligendie Auferweckung von drei Knaben, die eingrausamer Metzger in einer Zeit der Hungersnot gettet undeingepkelt hatte. Auerdem ist Nikolaus auch Schirmherr derKaufleute, Parfmeure und Apotheker.

Im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert war sein Kult in Englandbesonders stark. Anselm und Godric verfassten Gebete fr ihn,und Godric setze seines in Musik. Obwohl der Heiligenkult nachder Reformation nachlie, berlebte Nikolaus und wurde durchseine Assoziation mit Weihnachten und Geschenken an braveKinder in den universellen Weihnachtsmann umgemodelt.

Nikolaus Verbindung mit Knaben und Kaufleuten machteihn zum perfekten Sujet als das Lancing College 1948 seinhundertjhriges Jubilum feierte und Benjamin Britten gebetenwurde, etwas zu diesem Anlass zu schreiben. Peter Pears, der

seinerzeit ein Schler in diesem College war, spielte wohl eineRolle dabei, ihm diesen Auftrag zu sichern. Eric Crozier, derbereits als Regisseur von The Rape of Lucretia und Librettistvon Albert Herring mit Britten assoziiert wear, lieferte denText fr das erste Werk des Komponisten fr Kinderstimmen.Crozier whlte acht Episoden aus der Geschichte vonNikolausseine erstaunliche Frmmigkeit von Geburt an,seine Berufung zum geistlichen Leben, seine Rettung derSeeleute auf dem Weg nach Palstina, seine Wahl zum Bischofvon Myra, seine Verhaftung unter Diokletian, seine Wieder-belebung der drei Knaben und andere Wundertaten und Zuletztseine stille Freude im Angesicht des Todes. Und Britten, dersich zweifellos Nikolaus Gte gegenber unverheirateten Md-chen bewusst war, setzte einen Mdchenchor (wenn auch ingeziemendem Abstand) zur Verstrkung der Knabenstimmenein. In der Urauffhrung, die allerdings auf dem AldeburghFestival stattfand und nicht in Lancing, wurden die Knabenaus Lancing durch Chre aus den Schulen von Ardingly, St.Michaels und Hurstpierpoint verstrkt. Die Solotenorpartie,die Nikolaus reprsentiert, wurde natrlich von Peter Pearsgesungen. Die Instrumentalbegleitung, die so angelegt war,dass sie innerhalb der Mglichkeiten blieb, die einer Schule zurVerfgung standen und die versierte Spieler sicher bewltigenkonnten, besteht aus Klavierduett, Streichern, Schlagzeug (dasnicht unmittelbar verwendet wird) und Orgel.

Peter Evans bietet in seinem Buch ber den Komponisteneine grndliche Analyse von Saint Nicolas, und macht unsbesonders auf die vielen einfallsreichen Mittel aufmerksam,durch die Britten die oberflchlich betrachtet schlichten,manchmal naiven Ideen verwebt und sie in ein Gelegenheits-stck verwandelt, das E. M. Forster als einen der Triumpheauerhalb der Regeln der Kunst bezeichnet.

Ist aber alles so makellos, wie Forsters Tribut anzudeutenscheint? Der Fugenabschnitt des fnften Satzes knnte alsberspannt und eher schwach angesehen werden, undobwohl die Aufnahme einer wohlbekannten Hymne, The Old

13

BRITTEN Saint Nicolas & Hymn to Saint Cecilia

Hundredth (dichterische Fassung des 100. Psalms All peoplethat on earth do dwell/Alle, die auf Erden leben) einerlangen Tradition folgt, die auf die Kantaten Bachs zurck geht,und dem Publikum etwas Solides zu verdauen gibt, ist sieetwas abrupt. Auf der Plusseite finden sich die typischbrittensche und uerst wirkungsvolle Sturmmusik des viertenSatzes, die durch relativ schlichte Mittel erreicht wird, und derChorsatz des Nunc dimittis im Kontrapunkt zum Tenorsolo frNikolaus Vorfreude auf die Begegnung mit Gott ist inspiriert.Die Musik moduliert hier mit mheloser Raffinesse und knnteals zu glatt erscheinen, wenn sie nicht von solch transparenterAnmut erfllt wre. Aber der Zauber wird leider durch einenzweiten Choral, die Hymne God moves in a mysteriousway (Die Wege des Herrn sind unergrndlich) gebrochen.Trotz des Glanzes, den Britten seinen banalen Harmonienverleiht, gefhrdet diese Schluss-Steigerung des Werkes dasfrher geschaffene emotionale Klima des Werkes.

Im Mai 1939 folgten Britten und Pears ihrem DichterfreundW. H. Auden nach Amerika. Die professionelle Beziehungzwischen Auden und Britten datiert auf 1936 und dieFilmabteilung der englischen Post zurck. Diese war fruchtbarund sollte eine Zeitlang so bleiben, aber 1942 hatte sich derkonservative Musiker dem unkonventionellen Lebenswandeldes Bohemiens Auden entfremdet, und fand die Vorliebe desDichters fr Wortgymnastik (wie etwa in Paul Bunyan) nichtmehr nach seinem Geschmack. Britten fhlte sich zunehmendentwurzelt und litt an Heimweh. Im Frhjahr 1942, durchdie zufllige Entdeckung von E. M. Forsters Artikel ber denDichter Crabbe angeregt, kehrte er mit Pears in die Heimatzurck.

Die Abreise aus Amerika fiel mit Brittens endgltigerAbnabelung von Audens Einfluss zusammen, aber kurz bevorer ging, begann er an einer Vertonung von Audens dreiGedichten A Song to St Cecilia (Ein Lied an die HeiligeCcilia). Diese waren ihm gewidmet (Brittens Geburtstag fielauf den Ccilientag am 22, November), aber er fand, dass erdas Werk nicht fertigstellen konnte. Die Reise erwies sich

jedoch als therapeutisch, seine kreative Erfindungskraftbegann wieder zu funktionieren und die Hymn to St Cecilia(wie auch A Ceremony of Carols) wurde, wie die Partiturverkndet, auf See vollendet. In gewissem Sinne verkrperndiese beiden Werke einen Abschluss und Neuanfang. DieAuden-Vertonung reprsentiert das Ende der Begeisterung frtrickreiche Reime und macht der falschen Kultiviertheit undaalglatten Gewandtheit ein Ende, die Brittens frhen Werkenoft vorgeworfen wird. Die mittelalterlichen Weihnachtsliederandererseits signalisieren die Rckkehr zu etwas fundamentalEnglischem, tief Verwurzelten, Vertrauten und im besten Sinnedes Wortes Konservativem.

Die Hymn to St Cecilia (Ccilienhymne) ist fr fnf-stimmigen Chor a cappella gesetzt. Die drei Gedichte In agarden shady, I cannot grow und O ear whose creaturescannot wish to fall werden durch folgende Litanei verknpft:

Heilige Ccilia, erscheine in VisionenAllen Musikern, erscheine und beflgle sie;entrckte Tochter, komm herab und fachekomponierende 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 Orchesterhatte, widerstand sorgfltig aller Versuchung, sie nach-zuahmen, und fgt stattdessen kurze, isolierte Solokadenzenein, die eine doppelte Funktion erfllen: sie deuten eineInstrumentalquelle an, wenden aber besonders die Aufmerk-samkeit des Hrers auf Audens gefhlsgeladenste Zeilen. EineWiederholung des Vierzeilers Blessed Cecilia bringt dieseskonzentrierte und einfallsreiche Werk zum Abschluss.

KENNETH DOMMETT 1988bersetzung RENATE WENDEL

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Anmerkungen zur AufnahmeEine Erklrung in Bezug auf die vielen Chre, die an dieserAufnahme von St Nicolas beteiligt sind, ist ntig: UnsereVerteilung der Krfte folgt generell dem Beispiel Brittens inseiner Aufnahme von 1955. Im Zusatz zu einem gemischtenHauptchor (Corydon Singers, die auch die Hymn to St Ceciliasingen), werden zwei weitere Chre verwendet: ein Mdchen-chor als Emporenchor (Sopran und Alt des WarwickUniversity Chamber Choirs mit Simon Halsey als Unterdirigent)und ein Knabenchor (die Chorknaben der St Georges Chapel,Windsoreinschlielich des Knabensopran-Solisten HarryBriggs) fr den Abschnitt, der die Geburt und Kindheit vonNikolaus schildert (und die im Vortrag von Erwachsenen etwasverschmt klingen kann!) sowie die Solopartien des jungenNikolaus und den gepkelten Knaben. Alle drei Chre vereinensich fr die beiden Hymnen, und die Mdchen aus Warwickund die Knaben aus Windsor singen gemeinsam die Ober-stimme zu All people that on earth do dwell von ent-gegengesetzten Enden der Kirche.

Zuletzt finden wir, dass keine Aufnahme von St Nicolasohne eine Gemeinde fr die beiden Hymnen komplett ist(ein wesentlicher Teil in jeder Auffhrung, aber wohl auspraktischen Grnden in frheren kommerziellen Aufnahmenausgelassen). Um dies zu erreichen, fllten Mitglieder vonfnf weiteren Chren mit vielen Freunden und Verwandten inder letzten Aufnahmesitzung die letzte Ecke der All HallowsChurch. Die Gemeinde besteht aus Sngern der Chre derSevenoaks School und Tonbridge School, dem Choir of ChristChurch, Southgate, The Penshurst Choral Society, TheOccasional Choir und Freunden.

MATTHEW BESTbersetzung RENATE WENDEL

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CDH55378

Benjamin Britten(19131976)

Saint Nicolas [50'04]A cantata for tenor solo, mixed chorus, piano duet, organ, strings & percussion, Op 42

1 Introduction [5'28]2 The birth of Nicolas [2'34]3 Nicolas devotes himself to God [4'50]4 He journeys to Palestine [7'58]5 Nicolas comes to Myra and is chosen Bishop [6'55]6 Nicolas from Prison [2'50]7 Nicolas and the pickled boys [6'34]8 His piety and marvellous works [5'16]9 The death of Nicolas [7'06]

bl Hymn to Saint Cecilia [9'56]for five-part unaccompanied chorus, Op 27

tenor ANTHONY ROLFE JOHNSON

treble HARRY BRIGGS

CORYDON SINGERSCHORISTERS OF

ST GEORGES CHAPEL, WINDSORchoirmaster CHRISTOPHER ROBINSON

GIRLS OF WARWICK UNIVERSITYCHAMBER CHOIR

choirmaster SIMON HALSEY

CONGREGATIONChoirs of Sevenoaks School

& Tonbridge SchoolChoir of Christ Church, Southgate

Penshurst Choral SocietyThe Occasional Choir

piano duetCATHERINE EDWARDS, JOHN ALLEY

organ JOHN SCOTT

ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

leader JOS-LUIS GARCIA

conductorMATTHEW BEST

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Benjamin Britten (19131976)1 Saint Nicolas [50'04]

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

bl Hymn to Saint Cecilia [9'56]for five-part unaccompanied chorus, Op 27

ANTHONY ROLFE JOHNSON tenorHARRY BRIGGS treble

CORYDON SINGERSCHORISTERS OF ST GEORGES CHAPEL, WINDSORGIRLS OF WARWICK UNIVERSITY CHAMBER CHOIRCATHERINE EDWARDS, JOHN ALLEY piano duetJOHN SCOTT organ

ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRAMATTHEW BEST conductor

MADE IN ENGLAND

CDH55378Duration 60'14

A HYPERION RECORDING

DDD

Recorded in All Hallows, Gospel Oak, London, on 7 and 8 October 1988Recording Engineer ANTONY HOWELL

Recording Producer MARK BROWNExecutive Producer EDWARD PERRY

P Hyperion Records Ltd, London, 1989C Hyperion Records Ltd, London, 2009

(Originally issued on Hyperion CDA66333)

Front illustration: The Story of St Nicolas by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (d1348)Uffizi Gallery, Florence

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

NOTES EN FRANAIS + MIT DEUTSCHEM KOMMENTAR