BRITTEN: Folksongs Arrangements with guitar and piano; Songs from the Chinese; Canticle II Review

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BRITTEN: Folksongs Arrangements with guitar and piano; Songs from the Chinese; Canticle II ReviewDeciding which of Britten's pieces to include in a recording such as this is not an easy task, due in part to the large number of folk songs and other art songs and short pieces.
As is likely the case with many music lovers, I chose this recording simply because it was one of only three that I could find anywhere which had included the Songs Of The Chinese. This song cycle based on Chinese poetry has been equisitly arranged into this one-of-a-kind 6-song group for high voice and guitar carefully mirroring the rhythmic and melodic feeling of traditional Asian music. The influence of the 1940's trend of composers and artists to inject the minimalistic feeling into their compositions is very real within this song cycle and it blends beautifully with the Chinese feeling of the poems and melody lines.
The folksongs that were chosen are from Britten's vast claim of folksong arrangements. Those chosen are in English, and from the British Isles. However, once you have pursued this recording and have learned to appreciate Britten's feel for arranging traditional folksongs, you will certainly want to look into his French and German folksongs next. An excellent start is Britten: Folk Song Arrangements and Britten: Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 2 which include his entire collection of folksongs. Within the recording in question, however, you will certainly recognize many melodies which have become standards even with American listeners, and some which have been re-written into many church hymnals.
The vocals of countertenor Paul Esswood are beautiful, strong and haunting. This is probably the closest thing you'll find to the now extinct castrata (males castrated in order to preserve their soprano range while developing the male strenght in their voices past the puberty age). An easy, beautiful sound with the range of a mezzo soprano, but the strength of a tenor.
The other three musicians on the recording, James Griffett (tenor), Judith Ridgewat (piano) and Timothy Walker (guitar) were well chosen for the virtuosity and sensitivity required for these works. The simplicity of the folksongs can be deceptive to the listener. It is easy to overlook the skill required to interpret these sparse pieces in order to present them at their intendd nnocence and freshness.
On this recording was the first time that I had heard Abraham & Isaac (Canticle II). A 17 minute duet between James Griffett (Abraham) and Paul Esswood (Isaac) tells the Biblical story between father and son, in all it's dramatics and without break. From recitative to aria, the two beautiful voices weave in a lovely dance typical of the Britten style (also beautifully arranged in his Hymn to St. Cecilia, but there with more voices). The part of Isaac was originally written to be sung by Kathleen Ferrier, English contralto, and is beautifully mastered by Esswood.BRITTEN: Folksongs Arrangements with guitar and piano; Songs from the Chinese; Canticle II Overview

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