Britten

Description

This album pays tribute to the composer Benjamin Britten, whose 50th anniversary of his death is commemorated in 2026. It was conceived by conductor Lawrence Foster who, at the helm of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, bears witness to the impressionism tinged with post-romanticism of the British composer. The program features his sublime Illuminations, taken from Rimbaud's eponymous poem, often entrusted to tenors, but premiered by a soprano in 1940. Here, the young and very promising French soprano Julie Roset is the soloist and delivers a very endearing version. Another famous piece by Britten, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, commissioned by the British Ministry of Education in 1945, variations on a theme by Purcell that highlights each family of instruments in the orchestra. While the Sinfonia da Requiem (1940) was commissioned by the Japanese government to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of the Mikado dynasty, Britten dedicated it to the memory of his parents. Finally, the Courtly Dances from Gloriana are taken from the opera-homage to the Queen of England crowned six days before the premiere, on June 8, 1953.