Curlew River

Album by Benjamin Britten & English Opera Group & Peter Pears & John Shirley‐Quirk & Benjamin Britten

Curlew River is a church parable by English composer Benjamin Britten, first performed in 1964. The work merges elements of medieval liturgical drama and Japanese Noh theatre with Britten's spare, ritualised orchestration and chorally driven textures, and it marks a distinctive moment in his mid-career exploration of theatrical and liturgical forms.
First released: 5th May 1989

Tracklist

  1. 1.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Te lucis ante terminum"
    7:19
  2. 2.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "I am the ferryman"
    3:08
  3. 3.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "I come from the Westland"
    4:36
  4. 4.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "But first may I ask you what is that strange noise?"
    2:41
  5. 5.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Clear as a sky without a cloud"
    2:22
  6. 6.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Near the Black Mountains there I dwelt"
    2:18
  7. 7.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "A thousand leagues may sunder a mother and her son"
    3:19
  8. 8.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Ignorant man! You refuse a passage to me ..."
    2:10
  9. 9.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "I beg your pardon"
    4:52
  10. 10.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Curlew River, smoothly flowing ..."
    2:14
  11. 11.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Today is an important day"
    5:32
  12. 12.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Look! While you were listening to my story ..."
    2:44
  13. 13.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Ferryman, tell me, when did it happen?"
    6:24
  14. 14.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Hoping, I wandered on"
    3:30
  15. 15.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "He whose life was full of promise"
    2:21
  16. 16.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "The moon has risen"
    5:55
  17. 17.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Go your way in peace, mother"
    2:29
  18. 18.
    Curlew River, op. 71 "Good souls, we have shown you..."
    5:13

Credits