Britten: Curlew River

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Curlew River captured completely the composer's fascination with the Japanese Noh play on which it was based. The recording, produced by John Culshaw, was made in Orford Church, and the atmosphere... — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 More…

Catalogue No: 4218582
Label: Decca
Length: 69 minutes

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Special offer ends: 12/06/2024

Britten: Curlew River

Work length1:09:09

$19.80

$27.00

John Shirley-Quirk (baritone), Bryan Drake (baritone), Harold Blackburn (bass (vocal)), Peter Pears (tenor), Bruce Webb (boy soprano)
English Opera Group Chorus, English Opera Group
Benjamin Britten
Recorded: 1965-06-12
Recording Venue: Orford Church, Suffolk

"Te lúcis ante términum"

Track length7:21

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"I am the ferryman"

Track length3:08

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"I come from the Westland"

Track length4:36

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"But first may I ask you"

Track length2:41

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"Clear as a sky without a cloud"

Track length2:22

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"Near the Black Mountains there I dwelt"

Track length2:18

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"A thousand leagues may sunder"

Track length3:19

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"Ignorant man!"

Track length2:10

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"I beg your pardon, living in this famous place"

Track length4:52

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"Curlew River, smoothly flowing"

Track length2:14

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"Today is an important day"

Track length5:32

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"Look! While you were listening to my story"

Track length2:44

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"Ferryman, tell me, when did it happen"

Track length6:22

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"Hoping, I wander'd on"

Track length3:32

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"He whose life was full of promise"

Track length2:21

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"The moon has risen"

Track length5:55

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"Go your way in peace, mother"

Track length2:29

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"Good souls, we have shown you here"

Track length5:13

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Reviews

2010

Curlew River captured completely the composer's fascination with the Japanese Noh play on which it was based. The recording, produced by John Culshaw, was made in Orford Church, and the atmosphere of this unforgettable occasion is preserved. The procession of monks at the beginning and end comes towards us and recedes, just as if we were sitting in a pew.
Pears's performance as the Madwoman is one of his finest and most touching, while Shirley- Quirk and Drake are equally authoritative. The voice of the Madwoman's dead son is devoid of the sentimentality that might have been a peril if any treble other than Bruce Webb had sung it, and the inventive and beguiling orchestral score is marvellously played. With the composer and Viola Tunnard directing the performance, this is in a class of its own.

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