I've often thought that what we call classical music is too polite and well-rounded in performance, when really it needs to be rough, like this beautiful record. Britten loved the roughness of young voices and often wrote for them, but it's a feeling that should be taken into other performances of classical works, which are often too polite when they should be more brutal. Beethoven and Schubert in particular were thugs, and if you don't approach their music like that you lose its slap-in-the-face immediacy.
Songlist (from Wikipedia): "Begone, Dull Care" (Anon.) "A Tragic Story" (Thackeray) "Cuckoo!" (Jane Taylor) "Ee-Oh!" (Anon.) "A New Year Carol" (Anon.) "I Mun Be Married on Sunday" (Nicholas Udall) "There Was a Man of Newington" (Anon.) "Fishing Song" (Izaak Walton) "The Useful Plough" (Anon.) "Jazz-Man" (Eleanor Farjeon) "There Was a Monkey" (Anon.) "Old Abram Brown" (Anon.)
Did Britten write a song which begins "The postman, the paperboy, the piano tuner too, they all come the front way like visitors do but cook's friend Emily from number 23 pops in the back way and has a cup of tea."? It was a song we were taught in primary school in about 1953. I cannot remember the title so i have been unable to find it on youtube or by googling.
I have CDs from the 1980s of them. $20,000 o audio, various formats, LPs, CDs…MacIntosh speakers……rotting away. This is how the fall of civilization happens.
I'm getting chills as I listen to this. wonderful
This is incredible!!!! Wow.
Incredible recording! I sung most of these when I was around 8-9 I’d guess! Such great memories!
beautiful melody and performance of children. (old abram brown)
Gracias, Serioso Serioso por tu tiempo y tu generosidad. g
I've often thought that what we call classical music is too polite and well-rounded in performance, when really it needs to be rough, like this beautiful record. Britten loved the roughness of young voices and often wrote for them, but it's a feeling that should be taken into other performances of classical works, which are often too polite when they should be more brutal. Beethoven and Schubert in particular were thugs, and if you don't approach their music like that you lose its slap-in-the-face immediacy.
I wonder how much these young people realized at the time of this recording how much this music would resonate w/ them ove r time.
^
Songlist (from Wikipedia):
"Begone, Dull Care" (Anon.)
"A Tragic Story" (Thackeray)
"Cuckoo!" (Jane Taylor)
"Ee-Oh!" (Anon.)
"A New Year Carol" (Anon.)
"I Mun Be Married on Sunday" (Nicholas Udall)
"There Was a Man of Newington" (Anon.)
"Fishing Song" (Izaak Walton)
"The Useful Plough" (Anon.)
"Jazz-Man" (Eleanor Farjeon)
"There Was a Monkey" (Anon.)
"Old Abram Brown" (Anon.)
Just to provide some context, the list above is the complete Op. 7. "Ee-Oh" is missing from this recording.
Wow! The original (Live?) recording! The boys’ voices, rough, unrefined as B.B. wished, are so sweet.
Did Britten write a song which begins "The postman, the paperboy, the piano tuner too, they all come the front way like visitors do but cook's friend Emily from number 23 pops in the back way and has a cup of tea."? It was a song we were taught in primary school in about 1953. I cannot remember the title so i have been unable to find it on youtube or by googling.
Comment if you turned up here because “Moonrise Kingdom”
somebody know why Eh oh is missing? drives me a bit crazy
Yeah... it’s one of my favourites!
I have CDs from the 1980s of them. $20,000 o audio, various formats, LPs, CDs…MacIntosh speakers……rotting away. This is how the fall of civilization happens.