Britten: Curlew River, Op. 71

Benjamin Britten (Composer), David Angus (Conductor), Guildhall Chamber Ensemble (Performer), Matthew Hargreaves (Performer), Gwyn Hughes Jones (Performer), Mark Evans (Performer), Mark Milhofer (Performer), Hugo Ticciati (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Guildhall Chamber Ensemble, Matthew Hargreaves, Gwyn Hughes Jones, Mark Evans, Mark Milhofer, et al.
• Conductor: David Angus
• Composer: Benjamin Britten
• Audio CD (May 21, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Schwann (Germ.)
• ASIN: B000001STU
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,955 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Curlew River, Op. 71: Te Lucis Ante

2. Curlew River, Op. 71: I am the Ferryman

3. Curlew River, Op. 71: I Come From the Westland

4. Curlew River, Op. 71: But First May I Ask You

5. Curlew River, Op. 71: Clear as a Sky Without a Cloud

6. Curlew River, Op. 71: Near the Black Mountains

7. Curlew River, Op. 71: A Thousand Leagues May Sunder

8. Curlew River, Op. 71: Ignorant Man! You Refuse a Passage

9. Curlew River, Op. 71: I Beg Your Pardon

10. Curlew River, Op. 71: Curlew River, Smoothly Flowing

11. Curlew River, Op. 71: Today is an Important Day

12. Curlew River, Op. 71: Look! While You Were Listening to My Story

13. Curlew River, Op. 71: Ferryman, Tell Me, When Did it Happen

14. Curlew River, Op. 71: Hoping, I Wandered On

15. Curlew River, Op. 71: He Whose Life Was Full of Promiose

16. Curlew River, Op. 71: The Moon Has Risen

17. Curlew River, Op. 71: Go Your Way in Peace, Mother

18. Curlew River, Op. 71: Good Souls, We Have Shown You Here

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, Chilling, Amazing, September 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Britten: Curlew River, Op. 71 (Audio CD)

This rendition of Britten's _Curlew River_ sounds, at first, strange and unattractive, but after repeated listenings, the force of the performance takes over and sweeps you off your feet. The emotion that is built up and then released (in some of the most affecting music these ears have ever happened across) is so true and palpable that you can't help walking away from the piece with a more complete understanding of what Britten is trying to say. And, as always with any of Britten's pieces, this work operates on so many different levels that virtually anyone can feel a relation to what is going on. A madwoman, a lost son, a world that is both frightening and secure, both uncaring and tender, and also a reuniting. I think it is that sense of completion to the work that makes it so wonderful, the idea that, yes there is great pain and suffering, but there is also happiness and love. All of this (and so much more) is increasingly evident in the work if only you allow yourself to be lost in this excellent recording and slowly find your way back out again.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Eh? What d'you say?, May 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Britten: Curlew River, Op. 71 (Audio CD)

This recording is such that the text is virtually undeciferable. I love Britten operas, but without holding the libretto to figure out what's being sung, only the rarest tidbit of the story comes through here. Not recommended at all.