Benjamin Britten Songs

If you enjoyed the Britten songs you heard and want to sample more of his vocal compositions, the first choice is "choral" or "single voice" songs. If you enjoy choral, I would recommend any of the following as good entry points to Britten's work:

Ceremony of Carols (Willcocks/ChoirKingsCollege)
Rejoice in the Lamb (Britten/Purcell Singers)
Missa Brevis (Guest/ChoirStJohn'sCollegeCambridge or Willcocks/ChoirKingsCollege)
Hymn to St. Cecilia (Willcocks/ChoirKingsCollege)

If you want to stay with songs, then you might consider any of the following as a starting point:

Sacred & Profane - Eight Medieval Lyrics (Wilbye Consort/Pears)
Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (Britten -pf, Pears -ten)
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (Britten/ECO, Pears -ten, Tuckwell -hn)
Canticles I-V (Britten -pf, Pears -ten)

The performances I've suggested are simply that: suggestions for performances of these works that I like.

Enjoy!
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Rushton's recommendations are all excellent. I would add "Les Illuminations" to his list. It is an orchestral song cycle, solo voice and orchestra. I recently picked up a Naxos disk of Britten Orchestral Songs which include Les Illuminations, Quatre Chansons Francaises & Our Hunting Fathers for $6 on Amazon. Great performances (Felicity Lott and Phyllis Bryn-Julson & English Chamber Orchestra) and decent recording quality. Good luck! As a side note I've always thought Britten was a great entry point for "modern" classical music.

If you're interested in some of his symphonic stuff check out the "Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes" These vivid tone poems are interludes (orchestra only) taken from his opera "Peter Grimes".

Or you could just get Peter Grimes! It's a great work, easily available and on the used vinyl market for no more than a dollar or two. I got to hear Simon Rattle conduct it live with the Berlin Phil in April! What an experience.

Rushton: are the songs you're talking about stand alone pieces, or part of a larger liturgical work? Or are they the larger works? I've never heard of them.

Lousyreeds, the songs I listed are standalone works, although several (Seven Sonnets, Canticles, Eight Medieval Lyrics) are a series of songs (5-8) loosely related by a common theme.
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