HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - The Company of Heaven

OR:

The Company of Heaven on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

''The Company of Heaven'' is a composition for soloists, speakers, choir,

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

, organ, and string orchestra by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

. The title refers to

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s, the topic of the work, reflected in texts from the Bible and by poets. The music serves as incidental music for a mostly spoken radio feature which was first heard as a broadcast of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

in 1937.

History

Britten composed the music in between 8 August and 22 September 1937 as incidental music for a radio broadcast for

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, ...

on 29 September 1937. The associated text on angels, related to

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

as one of the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

s, was compiled by R Ellis Roberts. The broadcast was produced by Robin Whitworth, with an acting company headed by

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Earl ...

and singers led by

Sophie Wyss Sophie Adele Wyss (5 July 189725 December 1983) was a Swiss soprano who made her career as a concert singer and broadcaster in the UK. She was noted for her performances of French works, many of them new to Britain, for giving the world premiere ...

and

Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career starte ...

, with the BBC Chorus and the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

. The conductor was Trevor Harvey."Broadcasting", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 29 September 1937. p. 10 The complete work lasted just under 45 minutes. Britten confided to his diary, "the poetry side of it is pretty long".Finch, Hilary. "Wordy and worthy", ''The Times'', 13 June 1989, p. 15 One of the numbers, a setting of Emily Brontë's poem "A thousand gleaming fires", was the first piece of music Britten wrote for Pears, with whom he had recently begun a friendship that became a lifelong personal and professional partnership. Although Britten and Roberts discussed publishing the piece or reworking it for concert performance, Britten did neither. The score came into the possession of Harvey around the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and after the war he arranged a concert version, which he conducted on BBC radio on 20 May 1956. Harvey's version comprised Nos. 2, 6, 7 and 8 Another version was published in 1990. The first concert performance of the complete work (then described as a cantata) was given at the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...

in 1989."A sweeping success", ''The Times'', 8 June 1989, p. 22 Reviewing that performance, Hilary Finch wrote in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', "bearing up the mawkish tales of angelic rescue and hymning of watchers and holy ones, is a robust cyclic plan, some healthy string writing (Britten had recently completed the Frank Bridge Variations) and, best of all, a direct, unselfconscious engagement with the word so characteristic of early Britten." She concluded:

Scoring and structure

The work is scored for two speakers, soprano and

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

singers, a four-part choir,

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

, organ, and string orchestra. Eleven movements of the text are set to music, others are spoken. Part 1: Angels before the Creation #Chaos #The Morning Stars Part 2: Angels in Holy Scripture #

Angels appear to Jacob, Elisha and Mary

#Christ, the fair glory #War in Heaven Part 3: Angels in Common Life, and at our Death #

Heaven is here

#A thousand, thousand gleaming fires #Funeral March for a Boy #Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the most High #There came out also at this time #

Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones" () is a popular Christian hymn with text by Athelstan Riley, first published in the ''English Hymnal'' (1906). It is sung to the German tune ' (1623). Its uplifting melody and repeated "Alleluias" make this a favou ...

Music and text

The text assembles writings about angels from biblical sources up to contemporary poetry. Most of the texts are spoken, selected texts are set to music by Britten who also composed two purely instrumental movements, an introduction and a funeral march as a comment to a preceding reading. Only the sections set to music are numbered. The work opens with ''Introduction'' (movement 1), an orchestral movement depicting the chaos before the world was created. Spoken text follows, "He maketh the angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire" by

Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...

, "When all the sons of God shouted for joy", about

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...

, by Gerard Manley Hopkins, "Hell heard th'unsufferable noise" by from '' Paradise Lost'' by John Milton. "The Morning Stars" (movement 2) is a choral movement that draws from the work of

Joseph the Hymnographer Saint Joseph the Hymnographer ( el, Όσιος Ιωσήφ ο Υμνογράφος) was a Greek monk of the ninth century. He is one of the greatest liturgical poets and hymnographers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is also known for his confessi ...

. Part 2, "Angels in Holy Scripture", begins with a spoken passage "Angels were the first creatures God made" by

Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece '' A Woman Killed with Kindness'', ...

, followed by two biblical meetings with an angel, of

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

in movement 3a (), and Elisha in movement 3b (), both set for choir and organ. A speaker continues with "It was the rebel angel, Lucifer" by Richard Ellis Roberts, then movement 3c for soprano, choir and organ reflects the

annunciation to Mary The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

(). Choral movement 4 sets a hymn Archbishop Rabanus Maurus translated by

Athelstan Riley John Athelstan Laurie Riley (10 August 1858 – 17 November 1945) was an English hymn writer and hymn translator. Riley was born in Paddington, London, and attended Pembroke College, Oxford, where obtained his BA in 1881 and MA in 1883. Active ...

, "Christ the fair glory of the holy angels". Britten later reworked this movement into a piece for voice, cello, and piano. A speaker continues with another text by Roberts, "And as it was in the beginning ... the light shall triumph", leading to the final movement 5 in Part 2, "War in Heaven". Verses from the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

( and ) are set in a dramatic way as battle music for speaking choir and orchestra. Part 3, "Angels in Common Life, and at our Death" begins with movement 6 for soprano, choir and orchestra, "Heaven is here" from an unknown source. Another spoken passage by Roberts follows, "There are those, not only Christians", about "guardian spirits". The text of movement 7, set for tenor and orchestra, is a poem by Emily Brontë, "A thousand, thousand gleaming fires". The following story tells about a boy who is killed in an accident and met by his guardian angel, followed by movement 8, a funeral march for orchestra. A speaker recites a poem by

Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti (5 December 1830 – 29 December 1894) was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children's poems, including " Goblin Market" and "Remember". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Bri ...

, "Golden-winged, silver-winged". Movement 9 sets verses from

Psalm 91 Psalm 91 is the 91st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." In Latin, it is known as 'Qui habitat". As a p ...

( for a cappella choir with the densest vocal texture, SSAATTBB. A spoken poem follows, "Farewell, green field" by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

. Movement 10 is a melodrama for speaker and orchestra on a passage from the novel ''The Pilgrims Progress'' by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

, "There came out also at this time to meet him", describing the reception of two pilgrims in Heaven. Verses from the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

( reflect the resurrection. The last spoken text is by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, "I think they laugh in heaven". The work is concluded by movement 11 for both soloists, choir and orchestra on a hymn by Athelstan Riley, "O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord". In the end, the central theme is recapitulated from movement 6: "Heaven is here".

Recordings

*

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

,

London Philharmonic Choir The London Philharmonic Choir (LPC) is one of the leading independent British choirs in the United Kingdom based in London. The patron is Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Sir Mark Elder is president. The choir, comprising more than ...

,

Philip Brunelle Philip Brunelle (born July 1, 1943) is an American choral scholar, conductor and organist. He is the founder of VocalEssence. In the course of an international career as a choral and opera conductor Brunelle has been awarded Commander of the R ...

. ''Britten: The Company of Heaven''. Virgin, 2003. *National Sinfonia, Crouch End Festival Chorus, Fiona Shaw and

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2021 he was ...

as speakers, David Temple. ''Britten: The Company of Heaven'' and ''The Burning Road'' by Will Todd. Silva Screen Records, 1999.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Company Of Heaven 1937 compositions Compositions by Benjamin Britten Cantatas