Part 12 of the series centred around Benjamin Britten & Contemporaries.
In the previous two episodes, Britten’s contemporaries came off rather badly. Britten’s first long opera Paul Bunyon took up all the time. That is not the case this time: three-quarters of the next hour, you are in the hands of conductor Daniël Reuss, the RIAS Kammerchor and the Scharoun Ensemble, in Le Vin Herbé by Frank Martin.
From Benjamin Britten’s own work, the choice this time was a short piece for strings, from the same time period: Prelude and Fugue for 18-part string orchestra, his opus 29.
□ Benjamin Britten (1913-1976): Prelude and Fugue for 18-part string orchestra (Op. 29)
Norman del Mar: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
□ Frank Martin (1890 – 1974): Le Vin Herbé
Sandrine Piau, soprano
Steve Davislim, tenor
Jutta Böhnert, soprano
Hildegard Wiedemann, alto
Ulrike Bartsch, alto
Joachim Buhrmann, tenor
Jonathan E. de la Paz Zaens, bass
Roland Hartmann, bass
Daniel Reuss: RIAS Kammerchor, Scharoun Ensemble