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Peter Pears - Anniversary Tribute

Peter Pears (tenor), Benjamin Britten (piano), Dennis Brain (horn), Peter Pears (Peter Quint), David Hemmings (Miles), Arda Mandikian (Miss Jessel), Olive Dyer (Flora), Jennifer Vyvyan (Governess), Norma Procter (alto), Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Josephine Veasey (Hermia), Benjamin Luxon (Owen...

Peter Pears - Anniversary Tribute
so astute is his characterization and formidable his musical intelligence that he is able to portray the comic flavour of Albert Herring with as much conviction as the haunting melancholy of...

Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

More reviews

Peter Pears - Anniversary Tribute

Peter Pears (tenor), Benjamin Britten (piano), Dennis Brain (horn), Peter Pears (Peter Quint), David Hemmings (Miles), Arda Mandikian (Miss Jessel), Olive Dyer (Flora), Jennifer Vyvyan (Governess), Norma Procter (alto), Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Josephine Veasey (Hermia), Benjamin Luxon (Owen...

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so astute is his characterization and formidable his musical intelligence that he is able to portray the comic flavour of Albert Herring with as much conviction as the haunting melancholy of...

Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

More reviews

About

The recorded legacy of the great English tenor Peter Pears is substantial and wide-ranging. It embraces Baroque repertory and Elizabethan songs as well as a vast amount of twentieth-century English music and German Lieder.

This anniversary collection features Pears in a wide selection of this repertory and it also charts his career as a recording artist from landmark recordings such as the first recording of Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings (made in 1944) through to Britten's Canticle V The Death of St Narcissus (composed in 1974), recorded near the end of his career in 1976.

Many recordings included here appear on CD for the first time as international releases. Performances of Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge, and of Tippett’s Songs for Ariel , are of especial interest, and in a different vein, Pears sings Lutoslawski’s Paroles tissées, which he commissioned.

A true rarity is the first ever release of Schubert's Ganymed.

Packaging is cap box; 28-page booklet features a new essay on Pears by George Hall.

Artists

Peter Pears (tenor), Benjamin Britten (piano), Dennis Brain (horn), Peter Pears (Peter Quint), David Hemmings (Miles), Arda Mandikian (Miss Jessel), Olive Dyer (Flora), Jennifer Vyvyan (Governess), Norma Procter (alto), Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano), Josephine Veasey (Hermia), Benjamin Luxon (Owen Wingrave), Peter Pears (Sir Philip Wingrave), Heather Harper (Mrs Coyle), Sylvia Fisher (Miss Wingrave), John Shirley-Quirk (Spencer Coyle), Jennifer Vyvyan (Mrs Julian), Dame Janet Baker (Kate), Nigel Douglas (Lechmere), Osian Ellis (harp), Noel Mewton-Wood (piano), Alan Busch (piano), Thurston Dart (harpischord), Julian Bream (guitar), Meriel Dickinson, Gwynne Howell, London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Jenny Hill, Margaret Cable, John Elwes, Neil Jenkins, John Noble, Viola Tunnard (piano), Joan Dickson (piano)

The Boyd Neel String Orchestra, English Opera Group Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, The Bach Choir, Melos Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra, Zorian String Quartet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Philomusica of London, Heinrich Schütz Choir, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wandsworth School Boys Choir, Goldsbrough Orchestra, The St. Anthony Singers, London Sinfonietta, Aldeburgh Festival Singers, Steuart Bedford, Adrian Boult, Roger Norrington, Karl Münchinger, Eugen Jochum, Colin Davis, Witold Lutoslawski

Contents and tracklist

Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings, Op. 31
Work length24:10
Prologue
Track length1:11
Pastoral
Track length3:53
Nocturne
Track length3:17
Elegy
Track length4:18
Dirge
Track length4:10
Hymn
Track length1:58
Sonnet
Track length4:02
Epilogue
Track length1:21
Britten: Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op. 22
Work length16:58
Sonetto XVI
Track length2:03
Sonetto XXXI
Track length1:27
Sonetto XXX
Track length3:20
Sonetto LV
Track length1:50
Sonetto XXXVIII
Track length1:57
Sonetto XXXII
Track length1:25
Sonetto XXIV
Track length4:56
Britten: The Turn of the Screw, Op. 54 / Act One
Work length10:24
Interlude: Variation VII - Scene 8: At Night
Track length10:24
Britten: The Rape of Lucretia, Op. 37 / Act 1
Work length2:40
"Rome Is Now Ruled By the Etruscan Upstart"
Track length2:40
Britten: Canticle II, Abraham and Isaac, Op. 51
Work length16:18
Britten: Peter Grimes, Op. 33 / Act 1
Work length7:44
"Now the Great Bear and Pleiades"
Track length3:40
"Old Joe Has Gone Fishing"
Track length2:28
"The Bridge Is Down, We Half Swam Over"
Track length1:36
Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66 / Dies irae
Work length4:52
2i. Move Him into the Sun
Track length4:52
Britten: 6 Hölderlin Fragments, Op. 61
Work length11:49
1. Menschenbeifall
Track length1:21
2. Die Heimat
Track length1:56
3. Sokrates und Alcibiades
Track length2:18
4. Die Jugend
Track length1:49
5. Hälfte des Lebens
Track length2:01
6. Die Linien des Lebens
Track length2:24
Britten: Billy Budd, Op. 50 / Act 2
Work length4:39
"We Committed His Body To the Deep"
Track length4:39
Britten: The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35
Work length23:06
1. Oh, My Blacke Soule!
Track length3:19
2. Batter My Heart
Track length1:20
3. Oh Might Those Sighes and Teares
Track length3:00
4. Oh, To Vex Me
Track length1:09
5. What If This Present
Track length2:50
6. Since She Whom I Loved
Track length3:28
7. At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners
Track length2:33
8. Thou Hast Made Me
Track length1:31
9. Death, Be Not Proud
Track length3:56
Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream / Act 1
Work length4:37
"How Now My Love?"
Track length4:37
Britten: Albert Herring, Op. 39 / Act 2
Work length7:30
"Albert The Good!"
Track length7:30
Britten: Owen Wingrave, Op. 85 / Act 1
Work length8:22
"May God bless the Queen"
Track length8:22
Britten: Canticle V: The Death of St. Narcissus, Op. 89
Work length7:19
Britten: Death in Venice, Op. 88 / Act 1
Work length4:28
"The Boy, Tadzio, Shall Inspire Me"
Track length4:28
trad.: The Foggy, Foggy Dew
Work length2:34
trad.: A Brisk Young Widow
Work length2:02
trad.: O Waly, Waly ('The Water is Wide')
Work length3:34
trad.: Le Roi s'en va-t'en chasse
Work length2:13
trad.: The Plough Boy
Work length1:59
Handel: Acis and Galatea, HWV 49 / Act I
Work length6:40
Lo! Here my love!
Track length0:34
Love in her eyes sits playing
Track length6:06
Dowland: I saw my Lady weepe
Work length4:15
Rosseter: What then is love but mourning?
Work length2:52
Pilkington: Rest sweet Nimphs
Work length4:31
Morley: It was a lover and his lass
Work length2:31
Dowland: In darkness let me dwell
Work length4:49
Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Z.629 - Ed. Britten, Holst, Pears / Act 1
Work length2:47
"When a Cruel Long Winter"
Track length2:47
Schütz: Matthäus Passion
Work length6:05
Jesus aber stund für dem Landpleger
Track length6:05
Bach, J S: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, Pt. 4
Work length5:13
No. 41 Aria "Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben"
Track length5:13
Bach, J S: Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244, Pt. 2
Work length5:34
No. 53, Da nahmen die Kriegsknechte - No. 54, O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden - No. 55, Und da sie ihn verspottet hatten
Track length5:34
Bach, J S: Mass in B minor, BWV232: Sanctus
Work length4:53
Benedictus
Track length4:53
Bach, J S: St. John Passion, BWV 245 / Part Two
Work length4:55
"Then Led They Jesus From Caiaphas To the Judgement"
Track length4:55
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 / Part 1
Work length10:37
"Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Deus"
Track length10:37
Schubert: Ganymed, D544 (Goethe)
Work length4:18
Excerpt,Schubert: Winterreise D911
Work length18:48
1. Gute Nacht
Track length5:49
5. Der Lindenbaum
Track length5:08
11. Frühlingstraum
Track length4:37
24. Der Leiermann
Track length3:14
Excerpt,Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, D795
Work length12:05
1. Das Wandern
Track length2:27
6. Der Neugierige
Track length4:20
14. Der Jäger
Track length1:18
16. Die liebe Farbe
Track length4:00
Excerpt,Schumann: Dichterliebe, Op. 48
Work length9:59
1. Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
Track length1:37
7. Ich grolle nicht
Track length1:44
13. Ich hab' im Traum geweinet
Track length2:11
16. Die alten, bösen Lieder
Track length4:27
Schumann: Szenen aus Goethes 'Faust' für Solostimmen, Chor und Orchester - Zweite Abteilung (Part Two)
Work length10:49
Die ihr dies Haupt umschwebt im luft'gem Kreise
Track length10:49
Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ, Op.25 / Partie 2: La fuite en Egypte
Work length6:53
Les pèlerins étant venus
Track length6:53
Lutosławski: Paroles tissées
Work length15:13
Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge
Work length20:18
On Wenlock Edge
Track length3:23
From Far, From Eve And Morning
Track length2:15
Is My Team Ploughing?
Track length3:42
Oh, When I Was In Love With You
Track length0:43
Bredon Hill
Track length6:47
Clun
Track length3:28
Tippett: Boyhood's End
Work length11:52
What, then did I want? What did I ask to have?
Track length1:35
To rise each morning and to look out on the sky...
Track length2:54
To climb trees and put my hand down in the deep hot nest of the Bienteveo...
Track length3:37
To ride at noon on the hottest days...
Track length1:10
To lie on my back on the rust-brown grass in January
Track length2:36
Tippett: The Heart's Assurance
Work length17:36
1. Song
Track length2:44
2. The Heart's Assurance
Track length2:10
3. Compassion
Track length4:21
4. The Dancer
Track length2:03
5. Remember your Lovers
Track length6:18
Delius: To Daffodils
Work length2:21
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Moeran: The Merry Month of May
Work length1:52
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Dieren: Dream Pedlary
Work length2:23
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Dieren: Take, o take those lips away
Work length2:17
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Tippett: Songs for Ariel
Work length4:10
Come Unto These Yellow Sands
Track length1:40
Full Fathom Five
Track length1:32
Where The Bee Sucks
Track length0:58
Bush, A: Voices of the Prophets
Work length17:51
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Alan Busch (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
For Behold, I Create A New Heaven And A New Earth
Track length3:31
So At Length The Spirit Of Man Will Reach Out
Track length4:38
Rouse Up
Track length1:00
Over The Years I Hear Strong Voices Rise
Track length8:42
Warlock: Piggesnie
Work length0:55
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Warlock: Along the Stream
Work length2:27
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Grainger: Bold William Taylor
Work length3:41
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Busch, W: The echoing green
Work length1:51
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Busch, W: The Shepherd
Work length1:31
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Busch, W: If thou wilt ease thine heart
Work length3:04
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Busch, W: Come, o come, my life's delight
Work length1:31
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Viola Tunnard (piano)
  • Recorded: 1964-12-15
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Ireland: The Land of Lost Content
Work length10:23
The Lent Lily
Track length2:21
Ladslove
Track length2:17
Goal & Wicket
Track length1:05
The Vain Desire
Track length1:56
The Encounter
Track length1:06
Epilogue
Track length1:38
Ireland: The Trellis
Work length2:42
Bridge: Tis but a week
Work length1:43
Bridge: Goldenhair
Work length1:32
Bridge: When you are old
Work length3:36
Bridge: So perverse
Work length1:15
Bridge: Journey's end
Work length3:12
Bennett, R R: Tom O’Bedlam’s Song
Work length9:26
  • Peter Pears (tenor), Joan Dickson (cello)
  • Recorded: 1963-10-21
  • Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London
Ireland: Love and friendship
Work length1:50
Ireland: Friendship in misfortune
Work length1:42
Ireland: The One Hope
Work length3:36
Rainier: Cycle for Declamation
Work length8:22
Wee Cannot Bid The Fruits
Track length2:10
In The Wombe Of The Earth
Track length1:53
Nunc, lento sonitu
Track length4:19

Awards and reviews

2011 edition

so astute is his characterization and formidable his musical intelligence that he is able to portray the comic flavour of Albert Herring with as much conviction as the haunting melancholy of Death in Venice....All in all, a superb tribute to one of the most characterful and important singers of the twentieth century.
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