Britten to America Sir Mark Elder

• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976):
• 1Overture04:05
• 2Act I: Entractes for Mr. and Mrs. A.00:46
• 3Act I: Entracte and Gunn's Song: The chimney sweepers01:20
• 4Act I: Ransom: O brothers05:05
• 5Act I: Pantomime02:06
• 6Act I: Mother's Song: Michael, you shall be renowned02:06
• 7Act II: Prelude01:30
• 8Act II: Chant01:01
• 9Act II: Climbing Music00:24
• 10Act II: Gunn's Song: Some have tennis-elbow00:34
• 11Act II: Climbing Music00:34
• 12Act II: Cabaret Jazz Song: Forget the dead01:40
• 13Act II: Ransom: O senseless hurricanes00:52
• 14Act II: Funeral March and Chorus: No news00:49
• 15Act II: Blues: Stop all the clocks03:18
• 16Act II: Mother's Song with Chorus: Acts of injustice done04:23
• 17Act II: Chorale: Free now from indignation02:16
• 18I. London by Clipper (Programme 1)01:24
• 19II. Dover to London (Programme 2)01:20
• 20III. Ration Island (Programme 3)01:06
• 21IV. Women of Britain (Programme 4): London02:43
• 22V. Women of Britain (Programme 4): You walk down to a part of the city01:51
• 23VI. Women of Britain (Programme 4): Warren. To my dearly beloved boy03:19
• 24VII. Women of Britain (Programme 4): It's a beautiful August morning00:43
• 25VIII. Women of Britain (Programme 4): Within 50 yards01:22
• 26IX. Women of Britain (Programme 4): Your first factory01:29
• 27X. Women of Britain (Programme 4): After the last war00:30
• 28XI. Women of Britain (Programme 4): You set out for a training camp01:34
• 29Hadrian's Wall: Roman Wall Blues02:19
• 30Overture00:50
• 31Ad libitum01:24
• 32Chorus: The clock on the wall gives an electric tick04:07
• 33Prisoner's Monologue: Industrialists, bankers, in comfortable chairs02:10
• 34Fanfare00:38
• 35Moderato00:26
• 36Fanfare01:08
• 37Chorus: Marching Songs: Brightly the sun on our weapons is gleaming02:16
• 38Chorus: Ostnian National Anthem00:25
• 39Chorus: Waltz: The papers say there'll be war before long04:33
• 40Chorus: Journalists' Song: We fly to a cabinet crisis00:52
• 41Interlude02:32
• 42Chorus: To build a city02:32
• 43Britain to America: Where do we go from here?02:06
• Total Runtime01:18:28

Info for Britten to America

What better way to mark the end of Britten's centenary than release some unrecorded works, the majority of which haven't been heard since they were performed in the 1940s. This is Britten with a difference - there are blues numbers, jazz, a 'Tibetan' chant, a Bach chorale and even a ukulele player.

Britten made the hazardous journey from the United States back to England in the spring of 1942. Within a few weeks he had face a Tribunal exempting him from military service as a conscientious objector. In his statement to the Tribunal he had said “I believe sincerely that I can help my fellow human beings best, by continuing the work I am best qualified to do”, and almost immediately he began giving concerts with Peter Pears in towns, rural villages and prisons. He also wrote major scores for radio propaganda programmes, including An American in England, six programmes about wartime conditions in England produced by the BBC for live transmission in the USA by CBS; and Britain to America, three programmes as part of a weekly transmission by NBC.

Music from these two series is accompanied by incidental music to two plays by Auden and Isherwood: The Ascent of F6 and On the Frontier; and Roman Wall Blues, from a lost radio production with Auden, Hadrian's Wall.

„All the participants are excellent, especially actor Samuel West playing a portrait gallery of characters, and NMC's production standards are impeccable, rolling together spoken word, choruses and instruments so that the seams never show. A disc of incidental music should not be as much fun.“ (Gramophone)

'We need to know this music - this tells us so much about the development of this composer, about where his musical voice comes from ... the performances are superb and the recording frames them beautifully.' (BBC Radio 3)

„The actor Samuel West is also on hand, to deliver a gripping speech from the play. Ex Cathedra, a vocal octet under Jeffrey Skidmore, are entirely convincing, here as throughout.“ (International Record Review)

„This album features music that will surprise even the most ardent Britten devotee.“ (Gramophone)

Samuel West, narrator
Andrew Kennedy, tenor
Jean Rigby, mezzo-soprano
Mary Carewe, mezzo-soprano
Mervyn Cooke, piano
Lucy walker, piano
Matthew Dickinson, percussion
Huw Watkins, piano
Harry Ogg, assistant conductor
The Hallé Symphony Orchestra
Sir Mark Elder, conductor
Ex Cathedra
Jeffrey Skidmore, conductor

The Ascent of F6 and On the Frontier were recorded in the Djanogly Recital Hall, University of Nottingham, on 7 and 8 July 2013, in conjunction with the University's Britten Centenary Conference, ‘Britten on Stage and Screen’.

Recording Producer / Engineer: David Lefeber
Editing & mixing: David Lefeber

Roman Wall Blues was recorded in Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London on 28 April 2013.
Recording Engineer: David Lefeber
Recording Producer: Colin Matthews

Music from An American In England and 'Where do we go from here?' (from Britain to America) was recorded at Hallé St Peters, Manchester on 14-15 September and Bridgewater Hall, Manchester on 3 October 2013.

Recording Engineer: Steve Portnoi
Recording Producers: Colin Matthews and STEVE Steve Portnoi
Editing & mixing: Steve Portnoi

Mastering: David Lefeber
Executive Producer: Colin Matthews

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This album contains no booklet.