#native britten

so last week, i travelled to New York to hear my choir, Cerddorion Vocal Ensemble, give a concert of Poulenc and Britten. it was great and i had a fantastic time. I loved the Vox Nova Children's Choir's performance of Friday Afternoons (a very special piece in my heart) and I thought they were the best part of Voices for Today (a piece I've never really cared for) and while listening to it, i had some thoughts.

i think we see the best of Britten in the music he writes for kids and i think one of the reasons why that might be is because the music he writes may be simple, but it's not easy, or vice versa. he doesn't write down for children; he writes for their strengths and gives them music that (as far as I can tell) they like to sing. a great example, for me, is in the 2008 recording of The Turn of the Screw which features a young girl soprano singing Flora (something that's not common) -- her voice plays so well against the boy treble voice of Miles that it seems unthinkable to do it any other way.

in other news, I'll be on my way to the UK in less than a week which means we're getting even closer to Grimes on the Beach. there's been lots of talk about it (some good, some not so good) but i think those that have a problem with the idea of an opera with pre-recorded orchestral sound are being short-sighted and elitist. why be resistent to this? so much about this opera is about the environment -- the sea, the waves, the storm clouds. the darkness that surrounds and envelops you, it brings that metaphorical, internal darkness inside the opera becomes that much more palatable. this opera, more than any other that comes to mind, needs this environment. so yes, i'm not generally a fan of pre-recorded tracks (i've played over one, much to my chagrin) but we're not in the concert hall. WE'RE ON THE BEACH. and how the singers react to that experience, i think, will only enhance the power of this story. i cannot wait.

another awesome thing: Decca announced that they are releasing a boxed set of 65 CDs and 1 DVD entitled Britten: The Complete Works. instead of trying to tell you how awesome it is, why don't you just watch this awesome video made by Decca:

yeah. so if you're poor like me and you want this, you might want to try to win it here, courtesy of Sinfini Music. 

so there's a lot going on and coming up and you'll all here about it in the next few weeks but my one last awesome tidbit to share is that I've been invited on a tour of the Adnams Southwold Brewery! they are the fine people putting out the Native Britten beer and with a little help from my boyfriend, we got an invite. there will be tons of pictures and i'll try my best to explain how it tastes.