Britten: Complete Folk Songs for voice and piano

Milhofer, Mark, Scolastra, Marco

96009

It was during Benjamin Britten’s (1913-1976) stay in the United States in the early 1940s that he began to make his first arrangements of traditional folksongs. It was a way in which the then homesick composer could reconnect with his English roots. They also served well as encores and “lighter” material for his numerous recitals with Peter Pears. So successful and useful did the first collection prove to be that Britten went on to make a further six volumes of arrangements, including French, Scottish and Irish as well as English folksongs, the last (for tenor and harp) dating from the very last year of his life. They became regular features of Britten and Pears’ recital programmes and continue to be widely performed today.

Not being restricted by “authenticity” Britten had experimented with using folksongs as thematic material but deliberately lending them an unconventional, even quirky treatment that defies one’s expectations, putting his own personal stamp on what are sometimes very familiar tunes.

One of the most versatile tenors of his generation, Mark Milhofer is as much at home in the music of Rossini as in the repertoire of Monteverdi, Mozart or Benjamin Britten. He sang at the London Royal Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Opera Stuttgart, Vienna and numerous other famous opera houses. His piano partner is Marco Scolastra, one of Italy’s foremost accompanists and chamber music players.

CD x 2

Brilliant Classics

2/9/21

5028421960098