Britten Thematic Catalogue

Beta Version

BTC1051 CANTICLE III 'STILL FALLS THE RAIN - THE RAIDS, 1940, NIGHT AND DAWN'

For tenor voice, horn and piano, op. 55
Composition date: 27 Nov 1954
First performance: 28 Jan 1955 >>
Type of performance: Concert performance
Location: Wigmore Hall, London
Performance details:

Peter Pears ten, Dennis Brain hn, Benjamin Britten pf

Genre: Solo vocal
Text: Edith Sitwell (1887-1964)
Duration: 11'
Dedication: 'To the memory of Noel Mewton-Wood'

Noel Mewton-Wood (1922-1953), pianist. Peter Pears's 'second accompanist', who also performed at the première of the revised version of Britten's Piano concerto, op. 13.

Notes

The Canticle was later, in 1956, incorporated into a larger programme of music and verse entitled The heart of the matter (ca. May 1956) which included other settings of Sitwell's music.

The original text source shares a volume with the texts for two other Canticles: Canticle I 'My beloved is mine', op. 40 and Canticle IV 'Journey of the Magi', op. 86.

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