In 1958 I was lucky enough to be employed by Benjamin Britten in the first Noyes Fludde. My name was Janette Miller. Britten cast me as "Flora" in the UK TV production in 1959. He was very kind to me and called me "his Schone Mullerin" I loved the cycle and would sing it with him sometimes. Once he and Pears did a performance for me in Rosehill. I was a very lucky Mullerin indeed and I shal never forget the time I spent with them. To see and hear this is so wonderful. Janette Miller
I know exactly who you are! I’ve seen photos of you at the time, as well as in a film as an adult, no? . So glad you had a positive experience of Ben Britten.
I was stationed with the USAF in Suffolk, England in the late '60's. One day, I was in a record store in Aldeburgh, when an elderly gentleman walked in, and as our paths crossed, he wished me a good day. I subsequently found out that it was Britten. Nice man. Years later, I was at a Pears recital at the University of Chicago, shortly after Britten's death; Mr. Pears spoke briefly in remembrance of him, and dedicated a song to him. Another nice man. Too few of them in this world.
What I love with this interpretation is how they use the silence. They are not afraid of the silence - I just love it! And the way they change the character - two minds acting as one.
I was "Flora" in the famous UK TV 1959 production of "The Turn of the Screw" and laster at Aldeburgh in 1961. In 1958 I sang "Mrs.Sem " in the first "Noyes Fludde". I was 15. I loved & knew these songs. Britten became a great friend. I was unusual because I was a girl but I was very pretty and so musically precocious he enjoyed my company and I lkiewise. I became his "Miller's Maid". It is hard to beat this interpretation.
Schubert was a fantastic composer for the voice and Britten a genius. Here is the most beautiful interpretation by Britten and Peter Pears. It feels so good listening to this music and to see Birtten playing and Pears singing. Thank you for all these posts.
It's inspirational to hear such utterly beautiful piano playing and such musical phrasing from both artists. I've never seen footage of Pears singing in recital like this and it's interesting to see that him slyly concealing the little prompt cards in his hands. By all acounts Pears had an unreliable memory at times for the texts of his songs and arias. Thank you Gabba02.
I know Michael well. We were sort of rivals for Britten's favor! I knew David Hemmings too! He was so envious when Britten chose me. I was a Britten favorite for four years. Because I was a girl I sort of go unnoticed but I was there! Now I realise how lucky I was and how much of my musical education I owe to him. David, Michael and I were not children. Britten treated us like adults, We were all old for our ages.
Pears singing Die Schone Mullerin was the first version which I bought many years ago. Later, I added versions by Wunderlich , Prey and Fischer-Dieskau. All of these performers are or were masterful artists. Which you may prefer is a matter of personal taste. I prefer them all. I have never seen Sir Peter Pears before so my hat is off to Gabba02 for this gift of impeccable taste.
Britten really IS a genius! The musical symbiosis between pianist and singer in these performances (and indeed all BB/PP preformaces I know!) is just extraordinary. Anyone know of more video recordings made by Britten/Pears? - this is fascinating! I have the Nocturne DVD, and 'Legendary British Performers'. When will we be able to see Billy Budd, Owen Wingrave, television broadcast recitals...?
Pears, in my judgment, never sacrifices musicality for drama. The sound is clear, open, and beautifully controlled without detachment. He is so inside this piece and uses such empathic restraint in his interpretation. I continue to love the seamless line of his voice. A real master.
a musical team that brought much to British music and the rest of the world.Pears had a distinctive sound,that was nontheless artful and intelligently interpretive.
Oh, beautiful. This is my first time hearing Pears. I'd heard his name, but never actually heard him. He is so sweet, and the phrasing between him and Britten is just incredible. As a tenor myself, I am quite moved by this performance. The only thing I would say, is to those of you Schubert lovers, as opposed to just tenor lovers, Fritz Wundlerich's interpretations of this cycle, and anything Schubert are unmatched, and I strongly suggest checking those out too.
Yes aren´t they? I get tears in my eyes! (read my other comments to these videos if you want to.) Also, what IS beauty? (perhaps when you touch somebody´s heart.)
This was recorded many years ago and under what would be considered today, impossible conditions. Live! Television in those days went out live. Under the circumstances the recording is wonderful. The strain of singing an hour's cycle in a TV studio in one go with hardly any mistakes takes some doing. Also performers were not used to the relaxed mood needed for successful TV performances. Britten was better at it than Pears who did get stage fright. I am not surprised I would too.Congrats to both
@ComradeDeath They were indeed a couple and maybe this is what makes their performance so extraordinaty! This cycle was written originally for a tenor and immortalised by baritone Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore. Pears's performance has the same stature.
No, it's a fanatic female reincarnation anway... :-) That's really exciting about Billy Budd! I have the Peter Grimes already, but the quality is rather bad, so it'll be great to get a new one! How lucky to have heard Pears in recital... If only I'd been born about 40 years earlier... sigh. Can't wait for Vol. 4 of the Letters to come out - so soon so soon!
My only complaint with this performance is its unnatural, agonisingly slow pace, not necessary to play out the tenderness of the both text and score. Proof of this lies in the now 'definitive' version sung by Fritz Wunderlich. That apart, Pears is in wonderful voice and Britten a top of the top accompanist.
Pears nasal sound still annoys me. At first i didn't like him at all, but now i do. He has an incredible way of approach when he starts the phrase. extremely elegant. Brittens piano playing is just fantastic. So musical, so alive, vibrant and sensitive. An interesting video this one
@saladarmy Agreed, altho' i think we can dispense with the word 'tolerance' now, as it supposes that something is innately offensive and therefore to be TOLERATED, whereas open-minded may be more appropriate.
Wow! Do you mean Flora in The Turning of the Screw? Or is there a Flora in Noye´s Fludde?Were you one of the little girls singing "Drink! Drink!"?(a bit surprising in a church. How did people react?) Ah - I get it! Miller - Müller! (same word isn´t it?) I think Britten and Pears are still unsurpassed in this song cycle and in Winterreise.
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In 1958 I was lucky enough to be employed by Benjamin Britten in the first Noyes Fludde. My name was Janette Miller. Britten cast me as "Flora" in the UK TV production in 1959.
He was very kind to me and called me "his Schone Mullerin" I loved the cycle and would sing it with him sometimes. Once he and Pears did a performance for me in Rosehill. I was a very lucky Mullerin indeed and I shal never forget the time I spent with them. To see and hear this is so wonderful.
Janette Miller
I know exactly who you are! I’ve seen photos of you at the time, as well as in a film as an adult, no? . So glad you had a positive experience of Ben Britten.
I was stationed with the USAF in Suffolk, England in the late '60's. One day, I was in a record store in Aldeburgh, when an elderly gentleman walked in, and as our paths crossed, he wished me a good day. I subsequently found out that it was Britten. Nice man.
Years later, I was at a Pears recital at the University of Chicago, shortly after Britten's death; Mr. Pears spoke briefly in remembrance of him, and dedicated a song to him. Another nice man. Too few of them in this world.
A master-- in all aspects and all feelings
What I love with this interpretation is how they use the silence. They are not afraid of the silence - I just love it!
And the way they change the character - two minds acting as one.
This song appears in Marathon Man film when the White Angel ( Laurence Kerr Olivier) is shaving before to go to United States. Its fantastic.
I was "Flora" in the famous UK TV 1959 production of "The Turn of the Screw" and laster at Aldeburgh in 1961. In 1958 I sang "Mrs.Sem " in the first "Noyes Fludde". I was 15.
I loved & knew these songs. Britten became a great friend. I was unusual because I was a girl but I was very pretty and so musically precocious he enjoyed my company and I lkiewise. I became his "Miller's Maid". It is hard to beat this interpretation.
Schubert was a fantastic composer for the voice and Britten a genius. Here is the most beautiful interpretation by Britten and Peter Pears. It feels so good listening to this music and to see Birtten playing and Pears singing. Thank you for all these posts.
Phantastisch!
It's inspirational to hear such utterly beautiful piano playing and such musical phrasing from both artists. I've never seen footage of Pears singing in recital like this and it's interesting to see that him slyly concealing the little prompt cards in his hands. By all acounts Pears had an unreliable memory at times for the texts of his songs and arias. Thank you Gabba02.
I know Michael well. We were sort of rivals for Britten's favor! I knew David Hemmings too! He was so envious when Britten chose me. I was a Britten favorite for four years. Because I was a girl I sort of go unnoticed but I was there!
Now I realise how lucky I was and how much of my musical education I owe to him.
David, Michael and I were not children. Britten treated us like adults, We were all old for our ages.
Юношеская чистота и трогательность чувств. Слушаю, затаив дыхание, переживаю за героя. Спасибо!
One of the most beautiful performances, with my favourite accompanist of all time and idol at the piano.
What a beautiful duo & duet. Rare indeed. Dorothea
Best interpretation of Mullerin I ever heared.
Elegant phrasing and an excellent delivery.
absolutely beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pears singing Die Schone Mullerin was the first version which I bought many years ago. Later, I added versions by Wunderlich , Prey and Fischer-Dieskau. All of these performers are or were masterful artists. Which you may prefer is a matter of personal taste. I prefer them all.
I have never seen Sir Peter Pears before so my hat is off to Gabba02 for this gift of impeccable taste.
Britten really IS a genius! The musical symbiosis between pianist and singer in these performances (and indeed all BB/PP preformaces I know!) is just extraordinary. Anyone know of more video recordings made by Britten/Pears? - this is fascinating! I have the Nocturne DVD, and 'Legendary British Performers'. When will we be able to see Billy Budd, Owen Wingrave, television broadcast recitals...?
bravissimo. bellissima voce e musicamente perfetto.
Pears, in my judgment, never sacrifices musicality for drama. The sound is clear, open, and beautifully controlled without detachment. He is so inside this piece and uses such empathic restraint in his interpretation. I continue to love the seamless line of his voice. A real master.
Sehr schön !
Thank you for this. Lovely.
Respect: The german pronouncation of Pears is very good with only minor errors. (I can imagine this as I am german)
The English pronunciation is Peers. 😊🐝🐝
this is amazing!!! do the other lieder from Schone Mullerin exist as a video recording??
yes, beautiful..
Maravilloso.
Merci infiniment!!!!
a musical team that brought much to British music and the rest of the world.Pears had a distinctive sound,that was nontheless artful and intelligently interpretive.
Oh, beautiful. This is my first time hearing Pears. I'd heard his name, but never actually heard him. He is so sweet, and the phrasing between him and Britten is just incredible. As a tenor myself, I am quite moved by this performance. The only thing I would say, is to those of you Schubert lovers, as opposed to just tenor lovers, Fritz Wundlerich's interpretations of this cycle, and anything Schubert are unmatched, and I strongly suggest checking those out too.
Yes aren´t they? I get tears in my eyes! (read my other comments to these videos if you want to.) Also, what IS beauty? (perhaps when you touch somebody´s heart.)
This was recorded many years ago and under what would be considered today, impossible conditions. Live! Television in those days went out live. Under the circumstances the recording is wonderful. The strain of singing an hour's cycle in a TV studio in one go with hardly any mistakes takes some doing.
Also performers were not used to the relaxed mood needed for successful TV performances. Britten was better at it than Pears who did get stage fright. I am not surprised I would too.Congrats to both
Surprisngly, I am from Scotland...
@ComradeDeath They were indeed a couple and maybe this is what makes their performance so extraordinaty! This cycle was written originally for a tenor and immortalised by baritone Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore. Pears's performance has the same stature.
haha! I didn't notice the cue cards before! those are some good observation skills you have...
現代の曲は人の都合ばかりを忙しなく歌うものも多い 一連の優しい調べに触れて 己の才能や愛や音楽への確信のなさに愕然とする若者も多いに違いないと密かに感じ 私は願う 指針に迷うひとの幾人が星を目指たことだろう 燦然と輝く一連の美しい曲は 今も世界中の孤独の人の心を掻きたてて火をともし 人は幾度も 日々の喧騒やその風にともし火の掻き消されることを思い知らされるかもしれない その火の消されることを？ 何処に存在するかわからない ひとつみの渇きを癒す泉を求めて 世界に愛される才能をもってしても 零れ落ちてしまう水のように 人が慈しむ時は あまりに限られて儚い 全能たる神を離れて人に愛を求めたとき魂は幾度も打ち砕かれる 明日の露の光にも包み隠されているこれらの激しい情念の火は 梢にとまる小鳥にさえ恋を吹きこんだりするでしょう 全ての地上の人を 汲みつくすことのない泉のまえへと導くことは いつか可能になるかもしれない けれど小川は導くと歌は歌う あなたの影は今どこを泳いでいるのでしょう
No, it's a fanatic female reincarnation anway... :-) That's really exciting about Billy Budd! I have the Peter Grimes already, but the quality is rather bad, so it'll be great to get a new one! How lucky to have heard Pears in recital... If only I'd been born about 40 years earlier... sigh. Can't wait for Vol. 4 of the Letters to come out - so soon so soon!
My only complaint with this performance is its unnatural, agonisingly slow pace, not necessary to play out the tenderness of the both text and score. Proof of this lies in the now 'definitive' version sung by Fritz Wunderlich. That apart, Pears is in wonderful voice and Britten a top of the top accompanist.
Pears nasal sound still annoys me. At first i didn't like him at all, but now i do. He has an incredible way of approach when he starts the phrase. extremely elegant. Brittens piano playing is just fantastic. So musical, so alive, vibrant and sensitive. An interesting video this one
Same! The older I get and more I am able to appreciate nuance, the more I realize just how good Pears was-elegand indeed!
@saladarmy Agreed, altho' i think we can dispense with the word 'tolerance' now, as it supposes that something is innately offensive and therefore to be TOLERATED, whereas open-minded may be more appropriate.
Wow! Do you mean Flora in The Turning of the Screw? Or is there a Flora in Noye´s Fludde?Were you one of the little girls singing "Drink! Drink!"?(a bit surprising in a church. How did people react?) Ah - I get it! Miller - Müller! (same word isn´t it?) I think Britten and Pears are still unsurpassed in this song cycle and in Winterreise.
Britten really outshines Pears here for me.
Christ is Britten a colorful pianist ...
anyone else think pears looks like owen wilson?
His vowels are fine. You can understand perfectly what he's saying. Not too sure about how his vovels are though...
P, B, & S: artchitextural accomplis.
O Bächlein meiner Liebe
His vovels are diferent from each other. I think his a's sound good, but his i, like in "liebe", does not work at all..