Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20 (1940)
Spring Symphony, Op. 44 (1948-49)
The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (1945)

This new LSO Live release brings together, from three separate concert performances, some of the most characteristic and popular works of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), which in their own unique and distinctive manifestation, present you with a broad overview of this 20th century composer's output. These performances, captured live at Barbican Hall in London, reveal an orchestra and conductor well acquainted with this music that nonetheless still inject within it a sense of occasion and discovery.

If you're of a certain age, one of your childhood's primary introductions to classical music would most likely have been through The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. It may not incorporate a captivating story like say Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, but as far as highlighting the differing instrumental families of the orchestra, and exposing the individual timbral and expressive characteristics that set them apart and yet bonds them together, nothing else even comes close. Britten's use of a theme by Henry Purcell as a springboard for the whole work was ingenious, as it sets a regal and majestic forward momentum to the music, especially within its gloriously uplifting final movement where all the instruments of the orchestra gradually jump in to eventually reach a stupendous coda. Rattle's direction, though a bit pudgy here an there, is upbeat and lean as is the audio quality which lacks a certain amount of bloom. Each and every instrumentalist are in top form and project a sense of fun in keeping with Britten's intent.

One of my favorite Britten pieces is the aptly named Sinfonia da Requiem. Although originally conceived as a memoriam to his parents, its grippingly ominous and foreboding Lacrymosa. Andante ben misurato opening movement most certainly must be a gut-wrenching reaction to the onset of the war and the horrors to come. Here Rattle well conveys the heavy-footed plodding, and heavy-breathing of the march towards inevitable finality. The second movement seems to point out life's energetic and relentless forward procession to its own demise, whilst the final Requiem aeternam gently leads to its final resting place. Along with his War Requiem, this work is a good introduction to the music of Benjamin Britten. As a matter of fact, the Sanctus from the War Requiem should be on your bucket list of things to hear before you die. That and the Sinfonia da Requiem are prime examples of the 20th century's musical landscape altered by the inhumanity of warfare.

The Spring Symphony, scored for three soloists, choir and orchestra is not so much a representation of spring in the seasonal sense, but rather the resurgence of life in the aftermath of the war. It starts on a rather gloomy tone but progressively over its twelve segments, works its way up to a promising conclusion.

Different sound producers and balance engineers were used during these concerts which may explain why the depth of field and fuller sound of the first two performances seem to be a bit lacking during the Young Person's Guide .... Nonetheless, these three pieces form a great introduction to the multifarious music of Britten as well as a different perspective on British 20th century musical framework.