Britten Thematic Catalogue

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BTC799 THREE DIVERTIMENTI FOR STRING QUARTET, 'GO PLAY, BOY, PLAY'

For string quartet
Subtitle: For string quartet
Other titles: Alla quartetto serioso, 'Go play, boy, play' Three divertimenti.

'Go play, boy, play' is a quotation from act I sc 2 of Shakespeare's The winter's tale. 'Three divertimenti' is the published title (1982).

Period of composition: 13 Feb 1933 - 15 Feb 1936
Date notes

Britten worked on this piece on and off from February 1933 to March 1934, after which there was a gap of 10 months before work resumed in January 1935. See 'Composition history'.

Composition History

13 Feb-20 Sep 1933: begins five-movement string quartet suite, entitled 'Alla quartetto serioso, Go play, boy, play'. Comprises: 1. Alla marcia, 2. Alla valse 3. Alla romanza, 4. Theme and variations [incomplete], 5. Alla burlesca. The first movement is played through at Frank Bridge's home in Friston on 26 February 1933 and the second movement is played through on 23 August 1933 in Galgorm, Ireland.

27 Sep-11 Oct 1933: replaces first movement with 'All'introduzione'.

Nov-Dec 1933: 'Alla quartetto serioso' comprises 3 movements with new subtitles - 'All'introduzione' ('P.T.'), 'Alla valse (at the party)', and 'Alla burlesca (ragging)'. Played at Mendelssohn committee, 3 November 1933; at All Hallows Barking, 4 December 1933 and at Mercury Theatre, 11 December 1933.

Mar 1934: 'All'introduzione' revised and renamed 'Alla Marcia'.

25 Jan-25 Mar 1935: Further revisions to 'Alla Marcia', and a run through on 23 March 1935.

April 1935: revisions to'Alla burlesca' and 'Alla valse'

11 Jan-15 Feb 1936: Material reorganised as 'Three divertimenti for string quartet, Go play, boy, play' and with the movements renamed as follows, 1. March, 2. Waltz, 3. Burlesque ('To Francis Barton'). Performed on 25 Feb 1936 at the Wigmore Hall, London.

First performance: 25 Feb 1936 >>
Type of performance: First performance
Location: Wigmore Hall, London (RCM Patrons' Fund Concert).
Performance details:

Stratton Quartet

Genre: Chamber
Duration: 12'
Dedication: The third movement is dedicated to Francis Barton

Francis Barton (1916-?), school friend of Britten's at South Lodge in Lowestoft. An earlier version of the work included dedications to other friends, but only that of Francis Barton's survived into the final version. See notes under 'Waltz' and the discarded movement 'Theme and variations'.

Notes

The pieces comprising 'Three Divertimenti' were originally intended as part of a five-movement string quartet suite to be entitled, at one stage, 'Alla quartetto serioso,Go play, boy, play '. The work as a whole was finally named 'Three divertimenti, go play, boy, play' by Britten at its original performance on 25 February 1936. At one stage the suite was associated with Erich Kastner's film Emil und die Detektive (1931).

'Alla valse' and 'Alla romanza' were arranged for flute, oboe and piano on 3 and 5 April 1933 respectively for Sylvia Spencer. Material from the discarded first movement 'Alla marcia' was later used in the 'Parade' movement of Les illuminations, op. 18.

A more detailed chronology of the composition can be found under 'Composition History' and the individual movements can be researched further under their titles.

Movements

  • 1 March >>
    notes:

    Originally composed 27 Sep-10 Oct 1933, then revised between 1-15 March 1934 and again between 29 Jan-25 Mar 1935. Replaced original first movement. Previous titles: 'All'introduzione' (from 27 Sep 1933 to Mar 1934) and 'Alla marcia' (from 25 Jan-April 1935.

  • 2 Waltz >>
    notes:

    Originally composed between 28 Feb-4 Apr 1933, and performed on 23 Aug 1933 at Galgorm, Ireland. It was partially rewritten on 30 Mar 1935, and again revised from 10-12 Feb 1936. Previous titles: 'Alla valse' ('To Stephen') (13 Feb-Oct 1933); 'Alla valse (at the party) (Nov 1933-ca. April 1935). Revised in April 1935. The dedication was removed sometime after Oct 1933. It was arranged for flute, oboe and piano on 3 April 1933, and for piano on 2 Feb 1934 (see 'Related works').

  • 3 ''Burlesque ('To Francis Barton') >>
    notes:

    Originally written between 14 Aug-13 Sep 1933. It was partially rewritten on 30 Mar 1935, and again revised on 3-4 April 1935 and 14 Feb 1936. Previous titles were 'Alla burlesca' ('To Francis ') and 'Alla burlesca (ragging)'.

Discarded Movements

  • Discarded: Alla Marcia >>
    notes:

    This was originally the first movement of the projected five-movement suite, entitled 'Alla quartetto serioso, Go play, boy, play'. It was composed from 13-26 Feb 1933, then revised on 18 Jul 1933 before being replaced by what became 'March' (movement 1) by September 1933.

  • Discarded movement 2: Alla romanza >>
    notes:

    This was originally the third movement of the projected five-movement suite, entitled Alla quartetto serioso, 'Go play, boy, play'. It was composed between 6-7 Mar 1933, and arranged for flute, oboe and piano on 5 April 1933 along with the second movement, 'Waltz' (see 'Related works').

  • Discarded movement 3: ''Theme ('What to do') ('To David B') [and variations] >>
    notes:

    'David B' is most likely a former schoolfriend of Britten's, as is presumably 'Michael', the dedicatee of the first variation. The first variation is entitled 'Variation 1 ('On the see-saw') (To Michael'). There follows an incomplete variation and a further (speculative) variation which was found with the manuscript sources and which shares some musical material with the theme. The theme and first variation were written on 20 Sep 1933, and further variations were attempted on 24, 25 and 30 Oct 1933 before the movement was abandoned.

All content copyright (C) Britten-Pears Foundation 2012 unless stated. Please note all BTC numbers are provisional at this stage.