BRITTEN, Benjamin 1913-1976

[Op. 75]. Voices for Today ... [Vocal score with organ accompaniment]

Anthem for Chorus (Men, Women and Children)

London: Faber and Faber Limited [PN F020], 1965.

Octavo. Original publisher's blue printed wrappers with titling to upper. 1f. (recto title, verso copyright), [i] ("Written for the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations - 24th October 1965"), [ii] (text), [i] (acknowledgements), [i] ("Notes on Performance"), 2-44 pp.

Set to texts by Asoka, Sophocles, Lao Tsz, Bright, Penn, Melville, Camus, Lec, Yevtushenko, Blake, Hölderlin, Tennyson, Shelley, Jesus, and Virgil.

From the collection of noted musicologist Stanley Boorman, with his signature to corner of upper wrapper.

Wrappers very slightly worn.

First Edition. Banks, p. 132. BTC 1124.

Voices for Today premiered simultaneously in New York and Paris on 24 October 1965 for the 20th anniversary of the United Nations.

Benjamin Britten is perhaps the most important "among several pairs of composers who dominated English art music in the 20th century. Of their music, Britten’s early on achieved, and has maintained, wider international circulation. ...Notable among his musical and professional achievements are the revival of English opera, initiated by the success of Peter Grimes in 1945; the building of institutions to ensure the continuing viability of musical drama; and outreach to a wider audience, particularly children, in an effort to increase national musical literacy and awareness. Equally important in this was his remaining accessible as a composer, rejecting the isolationism of the postwar avant garde and developing a distinctive tonal language that allowed amateurs and professionals alike to love his work and to enjoy performing and listening to it." Jennifer Doctor et al. in Grove Music Online.

Item #34165

Price: $50.00  other currencies