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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School

2005

The Oboe Works of Benjamin Britten

Sotos G. Djiovanis

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 THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

THE OBOE WORKS OF BENJAMIN BRITTEN

By

SOTOS G. DJIOVANIS

A treatise submitted to the

College of Music
In partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Music

Degree Awarded:
Fall Semester, 2005
The members of the Committee approve the treatise of Sotos G. Djiovanis defended on
16 February 2005.

_________________________________
Eric Ohlsson,
Professor Directing Treatise

_________________________________
Charles Brewer,
Outside Committee Member

_________________________________
Jeff Keesecker
Committee Member

_________________________________
Frank Kowalsky,
Committee Member

The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee
members.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to acknowledge his former teachers Dr. Eric Ohlsson of Florida
State University and Mr. John Mack of the Cleveland Institute of Music and Cleveland
Orchestra for their guidance in the creation of this treatise. Both oboists lead their
students to interpret music as an expression of the composer, treating the study and
performance of any piece as such. It is due in part to this guidance that the author has
arrived at many his conclusions on the interpretation of the music of Benjamin Britten.
The author would also like to acknowledge his longtime personal friend, Janelle Madden,
for her assistance in editing this document.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract v
Chapter 1: Benjamin Britten 1
Chapter 2: Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2 18
Chapter 3: Two Insect Pieces 24
Chapter 4: Temporal Variations 28
Chapter 5: Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49 36
Conclusion 48
Appendices:
A: Discography 49
B: Annotated Discography of Selected Recordings 52
Bibliography 66
Biographical Sketch 69

iv
 ABSTRACT

Benjamin Britten is regarded as one of the most prominent British composers of the
Twentieth Century. His music covers nearly all genres and can routinely be heard in
many different types of performances. Britten worked diligently throughout his life to
produce a large body of works that are in most cases accessible to the listener, yet highly
detailed in their construction. For a large part of his life Britten enjoyed celebrity as a
composer, having had his works performed in the world’s most prestigious musical
venues by many of the most renowned virtuosi. Through his work as a composer, Britten
worked to revive English opera. He also increased outreach to schoolchildren in an effort
to boost national musical awareness and musical literacy throughout the population.

Britten wrote four pieces for the oboe, each of which is now a standard in the Twentieth
Century repertoire for the instrument. All four of these pieces feature the use of
harmonies that are very characteristic of the composer’s writing—tonal, yet tinted with
slight ambiguity and/or dissonance. In addition, all of Britten’s oboe pieces represent the
high level of detail for which he was known.

This treatise chronologically depicts the life and career of Benjamin Britten as a whole.
For each of the four oboe pieces in question, historical elements such as time, place,
reasons for composition, similarities with other pieces by the composer, relationships to
musical trends of the respective period, as well as British and/or world issues of the time
are examined. Harmonic and formal analysis is also provided for each piece. Several
commercial recordings of today’s most famous oboists playing the pieces in question are
examined and evaluated in this document. Particular attention is paid to performance
practice and the adherence, or lack thereof, to Britten’s intentions for each piece.

v
 CHAPTER 1: BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Benjamin Britten is widely regarded as being among the most prominent British
composers of the Twentieth Century. During his lifetime, Britten earned the admiration
of his contemporaries throughout the musical world. Britten’s music covers a wide range
of musical genres and today is popular in opera houses, orchestral concerts, and recitals
of all types. In addition, the world’s foremost musicians have recorded numerous
compositions by Britten. Through his efforts as a composer, Britten worked to revive
English opera, and to ensure the future and security of British music drama. He also
strived to increase musical outreach to English schoolchildren in an effort to help national
musical awareness and future musical literacy among the population. 1
An important ideal to Britten was that his music be accessible to all audiences.
Britten rejected most “modernist” musical ideologies. He developed a unique tonal
language that allowed both novices and seasoned musical audiences to appreciate his
work. 2 Very often, as can be seen in his works for oboe, Britten pushed the boundaries
of functional tonality. However, he did this in such a way that added ambiguity and/or
heightened the sense of grounding upon the inevitable return of the tonal center. This is a
common trait in Britten’s compositions that will be explored later in this document.
Britten was born in Lowestoft, Great Britain on 2 November 1913 and was the
youngest child in a middle-class Suffolk family. His father Robert Britten was a dental
surgeon who, although supportive of his son’s musical pursuits, by all accounts did not
play a large role in the composer’s musical career or development. 3 Benjamin Britten’s
mother Edith was an avid amateur singer and pianist. From the composer’s earliest
musical ventures, Edith controlled his life until her death in 1937. His mother was the
center of his emotional world and as such she gave the composer much musical and

1
Sadie, Stanley, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition, vol. 4.
London: Macmillan, 2001. 364.
2
Ibid.
3
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan,
1992. 6.

1
professional guidance throughout the years prior to her death. 4 Britten demonstrated
much interest and ability in music from a very young age. He began composing at age
five and began piano lessons at seven, and at eleven he began to study the viola. Britten
was extremely active as a juvenile composer and the large volume of unpublished works
from his early years attests to this. 5 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
lists over two-hundred examples of unpublished juvenilia by Britten. 6
In 1926, Britten was studying viola with Audrey Alston. On one occasion in that
year, Britten attended a concert at the Norwich Festival with her. At this particular
concert Britten was inspired by the performance of the orchestral work Enter Spring by
Frank Bridge, the British violist, composer, and conductor. Subsequently, Mrs. Alston
arranged a meeting between the young Britten and Bridge, who was a personal friend of
hers. 7
Britten studied privately with Frank Bridge, starting in 1926, and from Bridge
Britten gained much of the clarity and attention to detail that would be seen in his later
compositions. Bridge insisted that Britten write clearly what was on his mind on any
given day and give scrupulous attention to good compositional technique. Britten later
said that Frank Bridge gave him a sense of “technical ambition.” 8
It is known that throughout Britten’s life he held strong pacifist beliefs and was
opposed to the idea of war. It is possible that much of Britten’s pacifism stemmed from
the influence of Frank Bridge, as Britten stated in a memoir that his feelings against the
First World War came largely from Bridge. 9 Britten’s schoolteachers rejected his 1928

4
Sadie, Stanley, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition, vol. 4.
London: Macmillan, 2001. 364.
5
White, Eric Walter. Benjamin Britten: A Sketch of his Life and Works. London: Boosey and
Hawkes, Ltd., 1954. 13-14.
6
Sadie, Stanley. 390-402.
7
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 5.
8
Kennedy, Michael. 6.
9
Kennedy, Michael. 6-7.

2
essay Animals—which because of its pacifistic content was a criticism of hunting and
cruelty in general, and more particularly, the cruelty of war. 10
Benjamin Britten won a scholarship in composition at London’s Royal College of
Music in 1930. The entrance examiners in that year were S.P. Waddington, John Ireland,
and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Over the course of the following three years Britten
studied composition with John Ireland and piano with Arthur Benjamin. In 1933 Britten
won the R.C.M.’s Farrar Prize for composition. During Britten’s years of study at the
R.C.M. some of his works began to be published. One piece that was heard publicly was
Britten’s Phantasy Quartet for oboe and strings, which was broadcast in August of 1933
with Leon Goosens performing with members of the International String Quartet. The
Phantasy Quartet was subsequently performed in concert at Westminster and was lauded
in the London Times as being “unforced, original, and arresting.” 11
Living in London, Britten’s opportunities for hearing music of all types were
much better during his years at the R.C.M. Of the classic composers, the greatest
influences on Britten were Mozart and Schubert. Britten also found Mahler to be a type
of kindred spirit, due to his attraction to lyricism and melody. Among contemporary
composers of the time, the young Britten most respected the works of Stravinsky,
Schoenberg, and Berg. Britten nearly studied with the latter in the autumn of 1934
during a visit to Vienna, after having left the R.C.M. However, his parents did not allow
him to study with Berg as a result of advice given to them by authorities at the College. 12
Apparently, the R.C.M. had told Britten’s parents that Berg was immoral, due to the
R.C.M.’s policy against serial music—which they also labeled immoral. Britten’s
parents were led to believe that Alban Berg was actually an immoral individual rather
than musically immoral in the opinion of the College. In a related matter, when Britten

10
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 6-7.
11
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan,
1992. 50-51.
12
White, Eric Walter. Benjamin Britten: A Sketch of his Life and Works. London: Boosey and
Hawkes, Ltd., 1954. 15-16.

3
asked the R.C.M. to purchase a copy of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire for the library, he
was refused. 13
In 1935 the Brazilian Alberto Cavalcanti and William Coldstream recruited
Britten to work under John Grierson, who was making documentary films for the English
General Post Office, or the G.P.O. During his tenure at the G.P.O. Britten would
compose both the Insect Pieces and the Temporal Variations for the oboe. The
documentary films that the G.P.O. was producing at that time had a fairly left-leaning
political stance. This position made the G.P.O. all the more attractive as a place to work
for many young English intellectuals. During the years that Britten worked for the
G.P.O. he learned to write music quickly because their films were being produced in
rapid succession. Britten also gained experience writing for small chamber ensembles
during the mid-1930’s, since the G.P.O. film budgets were often scarce and could not
cover the expense of hiring large ensembles or orchestras. In most cases Britten had to
write film music for no more than seven players, yet still create all of the effects needed
for each film. 14
In 1935 Britten would begin his professional relationship with Wystan Hugh
Auden, a poet who was invited to contribute text to the film Coal Face. (The film was a
documentary about the coal mining industry and its associated disasters.) As time
passed, Auden would contribute other material to additional G.P.O. productions. Britten
and Auden would collaborate in the future on several projects and Britten would be
influenced by many of Auden’s ideas concerning such issues as art, philosophy, sexuality
and politics. 15
In the summer of 1939 Britten left England initially for Quebec, Canada,
accompanied by the English tenor Peter Pears. His intention was to become a U.S.
citizen and remain in the country permanently. Many artists emigrated from Europe to
the U.S. at this time, including W.H. Auden, who became an American citizen. There
were several reasons for Britten’s trip to the United States. The first was the darkening
13
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan,
1992. 52-53.
14
Carpenter, Humphrey. 65-67.
15
Carpenter, Humphrey. 67-68.

4
political situation in Europe in the later 1930’s. Additionally, Britten had grown unhappy
by 1939 with the reception that his work was receiving in Great Britain. Paramount was
the example that Auden had set in coming to the United States to pursue his own career. 16
While in Quebec, Britten first wrote his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D
Minor, which was subsequently performed by the New York Philharmonic under John
Barbirolli with Antonio Brosa as the violin soloist. The final movement of the concerto
is interesting in that it is the first time Britten chose to use the passacaglia form, which
later became a characteristic feature of many of his works.17
Britten’s initial intention of becoming a United States citizen was complicated by
the outbreak of the Second World War. Given Britten’s pacifist convictions, it is likely
that he would not have become a combatant in the war. However, Britten feared what
consequences might await him if he returned to England. In 1940 Britten was diagnosed
with an acute streptococcal infection that lingered for a year, further preventing his
return. During a 1941 trip to Escondido, California, an article in the B.B.C.’s weekly
Listener about the poetry of George Crabbe moved Britten. Crabbe was an early
nineteenth-century poet from Aldeburgh, not far from Britten’s hometown of Lowestoft.
Britten became homesick for the English countryside and artistic world as a result of this
article and his ideas of returning to his native country were cemented. Travel across the
Atlantic Ocean was dangerous and difficult during 1941 and it was often not easy for
travelers to find passage across the ocean: such was the case for Britten. Britten and
Pears were not able to depart for Great Britain until 6 March 1942, around six months
after the decision had been made to return. 18
Britten and Pears returned to England on a small Swedish cargo boat in 1942.
During the month-long journey, Britten completed the Hymn to St. Cecilia and A
Ceremony of Carols. Britten’s compositions from his American period were readily
accepted in wartime England. This was partly because there were scant opportunities to

16
White, Eric Walter. Benjamin Britten: A Sketch of his Life and Works. London: Boosey and
Hawkes, Ltd., 1954. 29-30.
17
White, Eric Walter. 31.
18
White, Eric Walter. 32-37.

5
hear new music during the war and also because of Britten’s considerable maturation as a
composer during his time in America. 19
Upon his arrival in Great Britain, Britten was granted, along with Peter Pears,
exemption from military service by a conscientious objectors’ tribunal. The exemption
was given on the condition that Britten was to give recitals on behalf of the Council for
the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, which would later become the Arts Council of
Great Britain. During the Second World War, Britten performed in numerous recital
halls and cathedrals throughout England. In addition to his performances, Britten wrote
several pieces during this period, because he had been artistically stimulated by being
back at home. Some of the works composed by Britten at this time include: the
Serenade, Opus 31, for tenor, horn, and string orchestra; Rejoice in the Lamb, a cantata
for chorus and organ; and Prelude and Fugue, for string orchestra. 20
During the six-month wait for passage back to England in 1941-1942, Britten met
Serge Koussevitsky at a concert in Boston. Koussevitsky asked Britten why he had not
yet written a full-scale opera. Britten explained that although he had been thinking about
the possibility of developing an opera based on Crabbe’s poem The Borough, the time
required to write a full-scale opera demanded too much freedom from other endeavors to
be economically possible for a young composer. However, Koussevitsky was interested
in Britten’s ideas for a Crabbe project and arranged for the Koussevitsky Music
Foundation to give him a $1000 commission to write the opera. 21
Britten began composing music for the opera that the Koussevitsky Foundation
commissioned in 1944. The opera would be known as Peter Grimes. In Britten’s opera,
Grimes was a fisherman who was a tortured idealist, rather than the villain that he was in
the Crabbe poem. The situation of Peter Grimes was not unlike that of Britten in 1944.
The composer was not literally suffering, but rather was tensely at odds with his society
as a conscientious objector to the war. Britten devoted most of his time composing to

19
White, Eric Walter. Benjamin Britten: A Sketch of his Life and Works. London: Boosey and
Hawkes, Ltd., 1954. 38-39.
20
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 35-38.
21
White, Eric Walter. 36-37.

6
Peter Grimes in 1944, he composed no other works of great significance during this year,
and the opera was completed in February 1945. It was premiered on 7 June 1945 to
critical acclaim. The London Times declared that Peter Grimes was a success and a good
omen for the future of British opera. 22
Peter Grimes was subsequently performed around the world in the most famous
opera houses and conducted by the world’s most important conductors. It remains a
standard and important part of the Twentieth Century operatic repertoire. Peter Grimes
was also a financial success for Benjamin Britten and he was able to live more
comfortably as a result of its profits. 23
Britten collaborated with poet Ronald Duncan in creating his next opera, The
Rape of Lucretia, during 1946. The chamber opera was premiered at the Glyndebourne
Festival in July of the same year. Many critics lauded The Rape of Lucretia; but the
opera’s combination of Christian moralizing and classic tragedy offended many as well. 24
With the future success of English Opera in mind, Britten orchestrated The Rape of
Lucretia in such a way as to make it more viable for smaller cities and institutions to
produce. The orchestra that Britten wrote for in this opera is made up of only twelve
musicians: a string quartet, double bass, woodwind quintet, a harpist and a single
percussionist. By reducing the number of performers in the orchestra and on stage,
Britten reduced the vast financial burden normally associated with the production of
opera performances, thus making performances of The Rape of Lucretia more feasible for
groups outside of the large national musical institutions. 25
Britten also composed the Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra in 1946 for the
purpose of accompanying a Ministry of Education film on the instruments of the

22
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 38-44.
23
Britten, Beth. My Brother Benjamin. Kensal House, England: The Kensal Press, 1986. 104.
24
Kennedy, Michael. 45-48.
25
Del Mar, Norman. “The Chamber Operas,” in Benjamin Britten. ed. Donald Mitchell and Hans
Keller, New York: Philosophical Library, Inc. 1953. 132-133.

7
orchestra. The Liverpool Philharmonic, under the direction of Malcolm Sargent,
premiered the work on 15 October 1946. 26
Britten began composing his opera Albert Herring in 1946 and completed it in
1947. Eric Crozier wrote the libretto for this opera, using Maupassant’s short story Le
rosier de Madame Husson. For the purpose of Albert Herring, Crozier moved the setting
of this story from the French provinces to a fictional Suffolk town, “Loxford.”
Britten bought a large three-story house in 1947, known as Crag House, in the
seaside town of Aldeburgh that he and Peter Pears made their permanent home.
Subsequently, money was raised and the Aldeburgh Festival was started, eventually
seeing numerous premieres of Britten’s works. 27 The festival rapidly achieved an
international reputation; only outstanding singers and instrumentalists, who were often
friends of Britten, performed at the Aldeburgh Festival. 28
In 1949 Britten had begun work on Billy Budd, the opera based on Herman
Melville’s novel of the same name. In preparation for 1951’s Festival of Britain (a
celebration of the country’s emergence from the war), the Arts Council of Great Britain
hastened Britten’s completion of Billy Budd with a commission. For the opera, Britten
would collaborate with librettists Eric Crozier and E.M. Forster. Billy Budd was
premiered on 1 December 1951 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The opera
received lukewarm reviews and did not become a success until twenty years later. 29
The character of Billy in Billy Budd was not unlike Britten himself. In the opera,
as in the novel, Billy Budd is falsely accused of attempting to organize a mutiny onboard
his ship. He inadvertently kills his accuser as a result of his own stutter and is
subsequently executed for this crime. Billy Budd is not an evil character in any way

26
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 45-48.
27
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan,
1992. 244-252.
28
Duncan, Ronald. Working with Britten, A Personal Memoir. Welcombe, England: The Rebel
Press, 1981. 119.
29
Kennedy, Michael. 55-57.

8
however. Rather, he is a victim of the evil of those around him. 30 Throughout his life
Britten felt at odds with his society, country, and government, in many cases for reasons
that were beyond his personal control. His situation in life was similar to that of the
protagonist in his opera Billy Budd, who is at odds with his shipmates.
In addition to Billy Budd, Britten composed the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid,
Opus 49, for solo oboe in 1951. The Six Metamorphoses after Ovid is a series of
miniatures based on legends included in The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid
(43 B.C.-17 A.D.). Britten’s Metamorphoses deal with characters from Ovid who, in
most cases, transform into new forms throughout the course of each piece. There are
similarities between the opera and Britten’s Metamorphoses; these will be discussed later
in more detail.
As stated before, Britten and Pears lived together. Although homosexuality was
illegal in England during the mid twentieth century, the two were partners and shared
Crag House, the residence in Aldeburgh. This topic was an open secret in the music
world and with journalists. 31 Britten did have a slight encounter with the law in 1952 as
a result of his sexuality. For reasons that were not clear, he was interrogated under
Scotland Yard’s policy against homosexual activities.32 Whether or not this particular
interrogation by detectives manifested itself in any way in Britten’s compositions is not
known. However, the interrogation of artists in England during the 1950’s is indicative
of a somewhat repressive social climate and may possibly have led to Britten’s
fascination with scenarios of man vs. society.
During the remainder of the 1950’s Britten worked on several projects. In 1953,
while a serious illness prevented the use of his right arm, Britten completed his opera The
Turn of the Screw writing only with his left hand. He conducted the world premiere of
this piece in Venice in September of 1954. At the end of 1955, Britten and Pears

30
Cooke, Mervyn and Philip Reed. Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1993. 1-14.
31
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan,
1992. 257-258.
32
Brett, Phillip, Elizabeth Wood, and gary C. Thomas, eds. Queering the Pitch, the new gay and
lesbian musicology. New York: Routledge, 1994. 244-252.

9
embarked on a long trip during which they gave recitals throughout Yugoslavia, Turkey,
Indonesia, Japan, and India. The trip was inspirational to Britten. The eastern influences
would later be seen in his ballet The Prince of the Pagodas, which opened on 1 January
1957 at Covent Garden. 33 In The Prince of the Pagodas Britten utilized instrumentation
that was intended to be reminiscent of the Javanese gamelan music he heard while
traveling in the winter of 1955-56. In an attempt to imitate the gamelan, Britten
augmented the orchestra with vibraphone, celesta, piano, xylophone, tomtoms, and
gongs. 34
The stage and orchestra pit of Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh were enlarged in 1960.
As a result, Britten decided to write a full-length opera for the Aldeburgh Festival that
year. Due to time constraints, and because Britten liked to compose from a completed
libretto, he used Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Britten had always liked
the play and found the three basic groups of characters in the play—the Fairies, the
Lovers, and the Rustics—suited to his style of composing. A master of colouration,
Britten used various instruments to denote each group of characters. A Midsummer
Night’s Dream was somewhat difficult to produce, as it called for coloratura soprano and
counter-tenor roles. Counter-tenors were extremely scarce in Europe in 1960. 35
Britten attended a concert in London with Shostakovich in 1960 in which the
Russian’s Cello Concerto was receiving its British premiere. The soloist was a then 23-
year-old Mstislav Rostropovich. Britten was greatly impressed by the cellist and
subsequently asked to write a piece including the cello. The result was Britten’s Sonata
in C, which was completed and sent to the Soviet Union in 1961. 36 With the approval of
the Soviet Cultural Ministry, Rostropovich premiered Britten’s sonata at the 1961

33
Kendall Alan. Benjamin Britten. London: Macmillan, 1974. 33.
34
White, Eric Walter. John Evans, ed. Benjamin Britten: His Life and Operas. Second edition.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. 82.
35
Kendall, Alan. 34.
36
Gishford, Anthony, ed. Tribute to Benjamin Britten on his Fiftieth Birthday. London: Faber
and Faber, 1963. 14-18.

10
Aldeburgh Festival. Both the cellist and the composer/pianist received extremely
positive reviews. 37
The War Requiem was completed by Britten in 1962. The piece was written for
the consecration of a new Coventry Cathedral, the original structure had been destroyed
during the Battle of Britain during World War II. The War Requiem was premiered at the
new cathedral on 30 May 1962. Britten’s strong pacifist ideals can be seen in the War
Requiem as the work is not in any way a glorification of the English victory. Rather, it is
a statement on the part of the composer about the general wickedness and futility of war.
The piece was dedicated to four of Britten’s friends, three English and one Kiwi, who
were killed in World War I. For the text of the War Requiem, Britten interspersed
material from a Latin mass with nine poems by Wilfred Owen, a soldier killed shortly
before the end of World War I. The War Requiem requires massive musical forces to be
performed: soprano, tenor, and baritone soloists, chamber orchestra, full choir, full
(main) orchestra, boys’ choir, and organ. Conducting the massive ensemble, Britten
recorded the piece for the Decca Record Company in 1963. The remastered version of
this recording, released in 1999, includes excerpts from rehearsals by Britten of the War
Requiem. Upon listening to this recording, one can witness the level of detail and
precision that Britten strived for in the performance of his work, (this will be discussed
later in more detail). 38
Britten was made an honorary freeman of Aldeburgh in 1963. In his acceptance
speech Britten expressed his belief that an artist should be a part of his community,
having direct contact with his public. Long known to value audience appreciation of his
own work, Britten went on to speak out against artistic serialism, drawing a distinction
between the likes of Stravinsky and “electronic experimenters,” and Picasso and “the
chap who slings paint on a canvas.” 39

37
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan,
1992. 395-402.
38
Britten, Benjamin. War Requiem. London: Decca Record Company, Ltd. 1999.
39
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 77.

11
 Later in 1963 Britten and Pears went to the Soviet Union for numerous
conducting and performing engagements—a sign of the lessening tensions between the
West and the Soviets during the Khrushchev era. On 3 May 1963 while in Russia,
Britten completed his Symphony for Cello and Orchetra, Opus 68, which he had been
composing for Rostropovich. Upon Britten’s return to the U.K. he was showered with
celebrations for his fiftieth birthday. Numerous concerts celebrated the occasion. Faber
and Faber published a Festschrift, edited by Anthony Gishford, which included articles
from thirty-five of Britten’s friends. In addition, Britten’s contemporary Michael Tippett
dedicated his Concerto for Orchestra to Britten. 40
Britten traveled extensively in the year 1964. He returned to the Soviet Union to
conduct the March premiere of his Cello Symphony with Rostropovich as soloist. The
musicians in Russia warmly received Britten. While in Leningrad, Britten attended the
first Russian performance of Peter Grimes, which led to further performances in
Leningrad and Moscow the following year. The following spring Britten traveled to
Budapest where he met Zoltan and Gabriel Jeney, two young sons of a distinguished
Budapest flutist. Britten was inspired by their talents for the flute and the violin and the
result was the composition of the Gemini Variations. 41 In May of 1964 he traveled to
Colorado to be awarded the Aspen Award in the Humanities, which also paid him a sum
of $30,000 for his advancements and contributions to the world as a composer. Britten
returned to the Soviet Union, in October of 1964. On this trip he went to Riga,
Leningrad, and Moscow for performances of his operas Albert Herring, The Rape of
Lucretia, and The Turn of the Screw. Britten’s friendship with Shostakovich was
cemented, the Russian having given him a photograph inscribed, “to Dear Benjamin, one
of my most beloved composers.”42
Benjamin Britten’s relationship with his publisher Boosey and Hawkes ended in
1964. The relationship had been deteriorating for some time. Subsequently, Britten
approached Faber and Faber about publishing some of his works. As a result, Faber
40
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 78-79.
41
Kennedy, Michael. 82.
42
Kennedy, Michael. 82-85.

12
Music was formed as a division of Faber and Faber, with Britten as a board member.
From 1965 onward, Faber Music would publish all of Britten’s works. 43
Britten and Pears decided that 1965 was to be a year of sabbatical, as far as
conducting and recitals were concerned. The exception to this was the annual Aldeburgh
Festival. In August of 1965 Pears and Britten traveled to Yerevan, Armenia for the dual
purpose of visiting Mstislav and Galina Rostropovich and attending the Britten Festival at
Yerevan. In October of 1965 Britten was awarded the Wihuri-Sibelius Prize in Helsinki,
Finland. Also in October, Britten’s Voices for Today, commissioned by the United
Nations, was performed in New York, Paris, and London. 44
In reciprocation, the Rostropoviches, who had spent Christmas at Crag House in
1965, hosted Britten and Pears in the U.S.S.R. for Christmas and New Year’s in 1966-
1967. While in the Soviet Union, Britten and Pears gave recitals in Moscow and
Leningrad. Additionally, Britten spent more time during the 1966 Christmas holiday
with Shostakovich. 45
One of the most significant events in Britten’s life during 1967 was the opening of
Maltings Concert Hall and Opera House in Aldeburgh. At this point Britten was semi-
retired to Aldeburgh. Presiding over the consecration ceremonies for the Maltings was
Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. Maltings was opened
during the Aldeburgh Festival in June of 1967. 46
The construction of Maltings Concert Hall and Opera House was made possible
by large grants from the Gulbenkian Foudation, the National Arts Council, the Decca
Record Company, and the Pilgrim Trust. The previous March Britten had completed his
Building of the House, Opus 79, for orchestra and chorus. This would be the first piece
that was performed in Maltings, by the English Chamber Orchestra under Britten. The
hall was noted for its richness and warmth of acoustics during subsequent performances

43
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 84.
44
Palmer, Christopher. ed. The Britten Companion. London: Faber and Faber, 1984. 446.
45
Kennedy, Michael. 88.
46
Palmer, Christopher. 447.

13
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Golden Vanity, the latter being performed by
the Vienna Boys Choir. 47
Britten began a strenuous recital tour beginning in Montreal with the English
Opera Group in the fall of 1967. In Montreal the group performed two of the composer’s
Church Parables which included: Curlew River, Opus 71 and The Burning Fiery
Furnace, Opus 77. After the Montreal engagement, Britten and Pears gave recitals in
New York. This was followed with a British Council recital tour of Mexico, Peru, Brazil,
Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. 48
While at work in 1968 on The Prodigal Son, Opus 81, another Church Parable,
Britten became violently ill with sub-acute bacterial endocarditis. SBE is an infection of
the lining of the heart and it is the same illness took the life of Mahler in 1911. This
condition was very likely a result of a case of rheumatic fever that had afflicted Britten
during his childhood. In addition to his stress over this condition, Britten was extremely
worried about the completion of his composition before the summer of 1968—due in part
to the large number of people whose summer jobs depended on its performance. Britten
recovered, for the time being, and finished The Prodigal Son in April; it was later
performed that summer. 49
In 1969 the B.B.C. recorded Britten conducting Peter Grimes for television at
Maltings. A fire nearly destroyed this facility in the summer of that year. The walls
remained but the roof was destroyed along with many instruments, including Britten’s
Steinway piano. The building was insured and local tradesmen were eager to help
rebuild the facility in preparation for the 1970 season. Britten and Pears traveled to New
York and Boston in October of 1969 in order to give recitals to raise additional money for
the reconstruction of Maltings. 50

47
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 89-91.
48
Palmer, Christopher. ed. The Britten Companion. London: Faber and Faber, 1984. 448.
49
Kennedy, Michael. 91.
50
Kennedy, Michael. 94-95.

14
 The always left-leaning Britten composed Who are these children?, Opus 84, in
1969. These were twelve settings of Scottish and English poems by the Scottish socialist
writer William Soutar (1898-1943). The pieces were not performed until 1971, when
Pears and Britten performed them at the Cardiff Festival of Twentieth Century Music. 51
By the summer of 1970 Britten’s beloved Maltings was reconstructed and was
found to be acoustically better than before. The Queen attended the first concert of the
Festival on June 5. For the first time since 1962, Britten had no new works to premiere at
the Aldeburgh Festival. 52 However, he did conduct the first performance outside of the
U.S.S.R. of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14, which is dedicated to Britten. 53
It is due to the existence of Maltings that we have numerous recordings today of
Britten conducting the works of other famous composers. Some examples of these are
Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti and the St. John Passion, Mozart’s 38th and 40th
Symphonies, Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, and several others. Britten recorded his
own compositions during 1970, The Rape of Lucretia and Owen Wingrave, at Maltings.
In his later years, Britten would not have been willing to spend enough time in London to
make recording a possibility. However, with Maltings at his doorstep, the possibility of
recording was much more attractive to the composer. 54
In May of 1971 Britten again traveled to the U.S.S.R. to conduct the London
Symphony performances in Moscow and Leningrad of his Cello Symphony with
Rostropovich. Earlier in 1971 Britten had composed his third Cello Suite, Opus 87, for
Rostropovich, with the intention that it would be premiered the following summer at the
Aldeburgh Festival. However, the cellist had to withdraw from that year’s Festival
because of political reasons. Due to his support of the dissident Russian novelist
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Rostropovich had fallen into disfavor with the Soviet authorities
and was not allowed to travel to England. Later in 1971 a brief appendix was added to

51
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 95.
52
Kennedy, Michael. 97.
53
Palmer, Christopher. ed. The Britten Companion. London: Faber and Faber, 1984. 450.
54
Kennedy, Michael. 97.

15
the Aldeburgh Festival in September. It was at this time that Britten and Pears premiered
the previously mentioned Who are these children?, which was based on the work of
Soutar. In the late fall of 1971, Britten traveled to Venice where he began what would be
his final opera, Death in Venice. 55
Britten continued to work on Death in Venice throughout 1972 in spite of
continuing heart problems. The opera was based on the story from Thomas Mann’s
novella (1912), which contains the troubling themes of pedophilia and death by cholera in
Venice. Britten completed Death in Venice in December of 1972. This year also marked
the last time that he would give a recital with Pears, and this event took place at the
Maltings. 56
Britten entered the National Heart Hospital in May of 1973 to have an operation
to replace a deficient valve in his heart. The operation lasted six hours and, during the
course of it, Britten suffered a mild stroke. Afterward, his speech was temporarily
problematic, but his right hand was permanently affected. Britten never played the piano
again, nor was he able to attend the premiere of Death in Venice on June 16 at the
Aldeburgh Festival. 57
After open-heart surgery Britten was very frail and rarely left Aldeburgh. Britten
finished his Suite on English Folk Tunes, Opus 90, in 1974. During October of that year
Death in Venice was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Also in 1974
Britten was awarded the Ravel Prize by the French government for achievements as a
composer. In December of 1974 Rostropovich was finally able to perform Britten’s
Cello Suite, Opus 87, at Maltings. 58
Although he was ill, 1975 was a more prolific year for Britten as a composer.
During 1975 Britten completed Sacred and Profane, Opus 91, for mixed chorus; A
Birthday Hansel, Opus 92, which are poems by Burns that were set for voice and harp at

55
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 97-99.
56
Kennedy, Michael. 99-100.
57
Kennedy, Michael. 101-103.
58
Palmer, Christopher. ed. The Britten Companion. London: Faber and Faber, 1984. 452.

16
the request of the Queen; Phaedra, Opus 93, a cantata for harpsichord and small
orchestra; and his String Quartet No. 3, Opus 94. In addition, Britten was able to attend
the Royal Opera House for the last time for the July productions of Peter Grimes and
Death in Venice. He also traveled to Venice in 1975 for the last time in his life. Britten
was not able to fulfill all of the requests for compositions that he was receiving at this
period in his life, due to his physical limitations, but he did work as much as possible, as
he felt that composing helped “get him back on the rails.” 59
Britten was made a Lord on 12 June 1976 at his home in Aldeburgh. This was the
first time such an honor had been bestowed upon any British composer. Later in the year,
on December 4, Britten would die in his home at age sixty-three—while with Peter Pears.
Britten was buried in the Aldeburgh Cemetery with simple services on 7 December
1976. 60
Today, Benjamin Britten is regarded among the world’s greatest composers. His
music covers a wide range of musical genres and is popular in opera houses, orchestral
concerts, and recitals of all types. Additionally, the world’s foremost virtuosi have
recorded numerous compositions by Britten. He is known for many things today,
including his revival of English opera, re-energizing of common practice tonality in the
Twentieth Century, the creation of the Aldeburgh Festival, and his strong pacifist beliefs.
Britten valued the opinions of his audience and strived to compose music that was
accessible to a wide range of music listeners. His music is concise, detailed, clear, and is
often based upon specific literature and historical information. His four works for oboe
clearly demonstrate these traits.

59
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 104-106.
60
Kennedy, Michael. 107-110.

17
 CHAPTER 2: PHANTASY QUARTET, OPUS 2

The Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2, was composed by Benjamin Britten in 1932 while
he was attending the Royal College of Music. The work is written for oboe, violin, viola,
and cello and is dedicated to the legendary British oboist Leon Goossens. Britten wrote
the Phantasy Quartet specifically for a “phantasy competition,” (presumably the Cobbett
competition for single movement phantasies). The work did not win the competition,
however, and was not performed immediately after its composition. 1
The term “phantasy,” as used in the Phantasy Quartet, harks back to the Sixteenth
and Seventeen Centuries. “Phantasy” is the old English spelling of the word “fantasia.”
The English musicologist Walter Wilson Cobbett adopted this spelling in 1905 when he
devised a competition for phantasies—single movement works without breaks intended
to permit compositional freedom. Cobbett’s competition was open only to British
composers. Some composers other than Britten who wrote phantasies for this
competition included Vaughan Williams and Bridge.
Britten’s Phantasy Quartet was first heard publicly in August 1933 in an English
radio broadcast featuring Leon Goossens, the composition’s dedicatee. 2 The quartet was
subsequently performed by Goossens and members of the International String Quartet in
Florence at the I.S.C.M. Festival. This performance made the nineteen-year-old Britten’s
name and work internationally known and foreshadowed his future promise as a
composer. 3
It is noteworthy that Britten composed the Phantasy Quartet a few years after the
composition of the two quintets for oboe and strings by Arthur Bliss and Arnold Bax,
which were written in 1922 and 1927 respectively. One of the common links that exists
between the Britten and the Bax is Leon Goossens, to whom both pieces are dedicated. A

1
Barret, Mary Ashley. An Analysis and Comparison of the “Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2,” by
Benjamin Britten and the “Quintet” for Oboe and String Quartet by Arthur Bliss. Doctoral Treatise.
School of Music, The Florida State University, 1993. 39.
2
Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan, 1992.
50-51.
3
Hamburger, Paul. “The Chamber Music,” in Benjamin Britten. ed. Donald Mitchell and Hans
Keller, New York: Philosophical Library, Inc. 1953. 211.

18
relative unknown in 1922, Goossens was famous by 1932 when Britten dedicated his
quartet to the oboist. 4
In addition to his Phantasy Quartet, Britten had written his Phantasy string
quintet in F Minor in 1932, the work that won the Cobbett Competition for phantasies. 5
Britten remained a fan of the English pastoral school at this time. 6 This is evident in the
Phantasy Quartet, which in a passage (rehearsal number 26) resembles the first
movement of the Oboe Concerto by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Both the Britten and the
Vaughan Williams feature fluid and lyrical melodies in the oboe that are placed above
more structured accompaniments.
There are elements of Britten’s pacifism that can be seen in the Phantasy Quartet.
In the A sections of the piece—which will be discussed more later—one can hear the
initial theme, a “lyrical impulse neutralized by cryptic march accompaniments.” 7 The
juxtaposition of singing lyricism against a quasi-military march theme suggests the
composer’s pacifism. War deeply haunted Britten at this point in his life.
There are a few different ideas amongst scholars as to the form of the Phantasy
Quartet. Most agree that on the large scale the quartet is in an arc pattern. The piece
begins and concludes with the same melodic material contained in the A sections. The
arc is strengthened by Britten’s treatment of these A sections. In the beginning of the
piece he writes music that approaches the listener and becomes more complex as the
section unfolds. Rhythms and harmonies at the beginning become more rapid and
compressed and the dynamic levels increase progressively. The recapitulation of the A
section is just the opposite of this; the music is in departure at this point, seemingly
moving in a backwards motion in comparison to the introduction. 8

4
Zetterqvist, Cynthia, jacket notes, Oboe Music by Britten, Bax, and Bliss, Gordon Hunt, oboe and
the Tale String Quartet, B.I.S., CD-763, Djursholm, Sweden, 1997. 3.
5
Palmer, Christopher. ed. The Britten Companion. London: Faber and Faber, 1984. 428.
6
Sadie, Stanley, ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition, vol. 4.
London: Macmillan, 2001. 365.
7
Evans, Peter. The Music of Benjamin Britten. London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1979. 23.
8
Hamburger, Paul. “The Chamber Music,” in Benjamin Britten. ed. Donald Mitchell and Hans
Keller, New York: Philosophical Library, Inc. 1953. 211-218.

19
 One must put the Phantasy Quartet into the proper context of time and place
when determining its specific form. An important issue to consider is Britten’s love for
composers such as Beethoven and Brahms in 1932. Also important is the nature of the
Cobbett competition, for which Britten was composing the piece. The Cobbett
competition was for “phantasies,” single movement works that challenged the long
accepted four-movement archetype for compositions. Taking this and Britten’s
admiration for the classics into account leads one to surmise that Britten combined
classical forms and traditions with prevailing modern ideas when writing the Phantasy
Quartet. 9
A close examination of the Phantasy Quartet leads one to conclude that the
quartet is a unification of a four-movement work with unique themes characterizing each
of the “movements.” Taking the circumstances surrounding the Phantasy Quartet’s
composition into consideration makes this theory all the more logical. 10

Table 1—Symbols used for discussion of sections in the Phantasy Quartet

Larger sections/functional “movements”…………………………...A, B, C, etc.
Smaller sections/sections within “movements”……..........................a,b,c, etc.

The A section of the Phantasy Quartet consists of measures 1-60. The music is
processional here at the opening of the piece, just as it is recessional at the closing of the
piece. Interestingly, this characteristic led Whittall to describe the Phantasy Quartet as a
programmatic work. 11
The “Andante” A section contains two distinctive themes: the initial march theme
played by the strings, which is then followed by the lyrical theme played by the oboe
beginning in measure 24. The tonality of the movement fluctuates between G Major and
C Major, with the harmonies of C Major becoming more convincing around measure 27.

9
Barret, Mary Ashley. An Analysis and Comparison of the “Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2,” by
Benjamin Britten and the “Quintet” for Oboe and String Quartet by Arthur Bliss. Doctoral Treatise.
School of Music, The Florida State University, 1993. 39.
10
Ibid.
11
Whittall, Arnold. The Music of Britten and Tippett: Studies in Themes and Techniques.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. 57.

20
The A section, or processional, begins with a ppp dynamic in the cello. True to the larger
arc form, the dynamics slowly increase throughout the section until the frenetic ff finish
at measure 60.
The B section of the Phantasy Quartet, consisting of measures 61-212, is
characterized by a more agitated quality. This is created by the allegro giusto tempo, 2/2
meter, and generally higher dynamic levels. This B section is in an ABA form. The first
section, or a section, consists of measures 61-102 and begins in the tonal area of C
Minor. It is characterized by the theme first played by the violin in measure 65. The b
section begins in measure 102 and is centered around D Major. The music played by the
oboe in this section is a scalar, pentatonic figure based on D, which adds a slightly exotic
flavor to this section of the piece. 12 The theme of this b section is first heard in the cello
part at measure 103 and subsequently elaborated upon by the other instruments in the
quartet. The thematic material from the a section returns at measure 165 in the viola part,
marking the recapitulation of the first section.
The C section is made up of measures 210-371. In the scheme of a traditional
four-movement work, this section represents the typical slow movement. It is the C
section of the Phantasy Quartet that most resembles the music of the English pastoral
composers such as Vaughan Williams.
The C section is marked by a new meter and tempo. The meter is a ¾ that
remains relatively slow throughout the duration of the section. The music here is much
more sedate and serene than that which preceded it in the B section. Measures 234-308
make up a string trio that includes cadenzas for all three stringed instruments. In measure
310 the oboe re-enters with a fluid cadenza. Britten asks that the oboist be flexible
against a fairly metronomic string accompaniment. This can be seen with his markings
of ad libitum for the oboe part and sempre a tempo for the strings.
Britten unified the four sections of the Phantasy Quartet through thematic
integration. The C section of the quartet borrows material from both the A and B
sections, effectively bringing more unity to the Phantasy Quartet. An example of

12
Barret, Mary Ashley. An Analysis and Comparison of the “Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2,” by
Benjamin Britten and the “Quintet” for Oboe and String Quartet by Arthur Bliss. Doctoral Treatise.
School of Music, The Florida State University, 1993. 42.

21
melodic material borrowed from the A section can be seen in measure 234, or rehearsal
number 20. At this point a melodic line in the viola is intervallicly related to the oboe’s
initial theme in the A section. An example of music borrowed from the B section begins
in measure 349, or rehearsal number 30. In this case Britten integrates the themes from
the B section with melodic material from the C section in the oboe. The sharing of
thematic material between sections brings more unity to larger sections and/or pieces and
is very typical of Benjamin Britten—this is one of his compositional trademarks. One
can see the same technique used in the Phantasy Quartet in Britten’s Six Metamorphoses
after Ovid, Opus 49, from 1951.
Whittall calls the final section of the Phantasy Quartet “recessional.” 13 In this
recapitulation of the original A section, beginning at measure 371, the music seemingly
goes from near to far. Specifically, the closing music of the piece becomes less complex
as it unfolds; rhythms and harmonies become progressively less tightly compressed and
the dynamic levels gradually fade into a whisper. This also strengthens the idea that the
arc form is completed, since the music came from far to near in the initial A section. 14
The recapitulation of the A section repeats the juxtaposition of the oboe’s lyrical lines
against the march-like string accompaniment. The section is in the key of G and ends on
a rather distant-sounding unresolved F-Sharp in the cello. However, due to the sparse
texture at the end of the final A section, the key and harmonies become increasingly
unclear just as they became increasingly clear in the introduction.
Britten’s Phantasy Quartet was the first piece to bring the composer international
recognition. Many of Britten’s hallmark compositional devices are evident in this early
work. There are many similarities between the Phantasy Quartet and Britten’s
subsequent pieces featuring the oboe.
At this point it is important to note that all of Britten’s pieces for oboe, including
the Phantasy Quartet, are representative of the high degree of detail typical in Britten’s
compositions. It is apparent that Britten, as well as the publisher Boosey and Hawkes,

13
Whittall, Arnold. The Music of Britten and Tippett: Studies in Themes and Techniques.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. 57-66.
14
Barret, Mary Ashley. An Analysis and Comparison of the “Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2,” by
Benjamin Britten and the “Quintet” for Oboe and String Quartet by Arthur Bliss. Doctoral Treatise.
School of Music, The Florida State University, 1993. 43.

22
took great care to diligently place dynamic markings in the Phantasy Quartet, often with
crescendos and decrescendos having very obvious origination and termination points.
Additionally, Britten was very specific with his instructions for the string parts, often
indicating what part of the instrument, with or without mute, or with which string and/or
fingering. One of the most striking things that can be seen in the Phantasy Quartet is the
amount of control that Britten demanded with regard to articulation. Not only are
numerous phrases written with many types of accent markings, but one can see much
variety and specificity in Britten’s demands as well.
The remastered version of Decca Records’ 1963 recording of Britten’s War
Requiem, which was released in 1999, contains audio material of the composer rehearsing
the piece in the recording studio. Britten’s attention to detail is clearly apparent in these
rehearsals. In one instance while rehearsing “Requiem Aeternam,” he says to the violins:
“...you’re sustaining excellently, the trouble is, it’s a little bit too vibrato on the crotchets
(quarter notes)...it’s a little too personal sounding, it should be rather a more general
feeling.” 15 In another instance, Britten says candidly to the chorus: “[At rehearsal
number] eight, chorus, I have to admit the composer was right, mezzo-forte is too much,
so can you go back to piano?” 16 These comments are somewhat revealing as to Britten’s
desire for the performance of his music to closely fit his personal conceptualization of it.
What is more revealing, upon listening to several minutes of the rehearsal, is that Britten
seemingly never stops trying to cement the details in his music and never loses his
intense push for perfection.
The larger significance of Britten’s extensive use of dynamic, tempo, expression,
and articulation markings has to do with performance practice. It is clear that Britten had
very specific intentions as to what he desired from his music in performance. This is
evident in his music and it is also clearly obvious in his rehearsals. For these reasons
performers must be careful to take liberties only within Britten’s performance parameters,
carefully taking into consideration all of his structural and expressive markings.

15
Britten, Benjamin. War Requiem. London: Decca Record Company, Ltd., 414 383-2,
1999. Track 5.
16
Ibid.

23
 CHAPTER 3: TWO INSECT PIECES

Benjamin Britten composed the Two Insect Pieces in the spring of 1935 for the
British oboist Sylvia Spenser. These works are short, rather sparse, programmatic
character pieces for oboe and piano depicting “The Grasshopper” and “The Wasp.” The
Two Insect Pieces were played through by Britten and Spenser in April of 1935.
However, they were not performed publicly until 7 March 1979, when they were played
by Janet Craxton and Margot Wright in a memorial concert for Sylvia Spencer at the
Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. 1 It is logical to assume that the
composer was relatively happy with them, or at the very least the idea of “insect” pieces.
This is because Britten wrote sketches for several more insect pieces that were never
completed. 2
The Two Insect Pieces were one of only two instrumental recital pieces written by
Britten during 1935, the other one being the Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6. In 1935
Britten also wrote fourteen film scores and two theatre scores. Britten worked on several
films in 1935 where his music played a significant and substantive role, such as The
King’s Stamp, Coal Face, and The Torcher. The latter is a shadow play with continuous
music written by Rossini and arranged by Britten. The remainder of the film music that
Britten wrote in 1935 was less significant, in many cases just title and end music. 3
The first of the Two Insect Pieces is “The Grasshopper.” The typical motions of a
grasshopper are brought to life by a 6/8 meter that is punctuated with staccato attacks.
The initial tempo designation for “The Grasshopper” is “Allegretto leggiero” with the
tempo of the dotted quarter note equaling 60. Performed with two beats to the bar, the
theme of “The Grasshopper” typifies the insect jumping about, often with the launch on
the third or sixth eighth note and the landing on the fourth or first eighth note, or main
beat. From beginning to end in “The Grasshopper,” Britten wrote staccato eighth note

1
Matthews, Colin. Preface to Two Insect Pieces, by Benjamin Britten. London: Faber
Music. 1980.
2
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise. School of Music, The Florida State University. 2000. 17.
3
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical Evolution. New
York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 100.

24
punctuations in the piano that form the interval of a major second. It is possible that this
interval represents the irregular nature of the grasshopper’s footing on naturally
juxtaposed blades of grass and/or the friction of the grasses as the grasshopper launches
and lands upon them.
“The Grasshopper” is in ABA form and is in the key area of E. Measures 1-42
make up the A section. The section is characterized by the aforementioned
launching/landing quality of the music inherent in its 3-4 and 6-1 motion of eighth notes
in triple meter. The A section begins in the key area of E Major and ends in a tonicized F
Major. Measures 43-56 make up the animated B section, which is marked “Molto piu
animato.” This section begins abruptly in the key of E Major with an E tonic pedal in the
piano. In a manner similar to most of Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, the B
section of “The Grasshopper” contains some material and devices previously seen in the
A section. For example, a descending figure with major second intervals on the bottom
can be seen in the right hand of the piano throughout the B section. This figure is
borrowed from the A section’s left hand piano part. Also, some of the launching/landing
figures from the rhythms of the A section are present in the oboe melody in the B section.
Finally, the staccato articulations asked for by the composer in the A section remain in
the B section. The B section ends with prominent pitches of D and F Sharp, in the oboe
and the right hand of the piano, respectively. This prepares the beginning of the A
section’s return in measure 57 with dominant inflections towards its initial key area of G
minor.
The recapitulation of the A section quickly moves from G minor to the original
key area of E Major. In this section, a warmth of sound is the result of Britten’s use of
sustained triads in the left hand of the piano from measure 66 onwards. This liberal use
of pure triads in a piece intended for public performance is a first for Britten in 1935.
However, in every case in the final section of “The Grasshopper” the consonant triads are
subsequently overlaid with additional pitches that are dissonant. 4
With the exception of Britten’s use of sustained triads in the return of the A
section, the music is very much like that of the initial A section. The last five measures

4
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical Evolution. New
York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 100.

25
of “The Grasshopper” contain the oboe’s “ad libitum” motion upwards to a sustained
pitch of E. This is followed by a pure triad of E Major in the right hand of the piano,
which is subsequently accented by a dissonant F-Sharp punctuation in the ultimate
measure of the piece.
“The Wasp” is the second of Britten’s Two Insect Pieces. “The Wasp” is more
virtuosic than “The Grasshopper,” particularly in its piano part. Just as in “The
Grasshopper,” “The Wasp” contains melodies and devices that typify the particular insect
that forms the basis for the piece. In the case of “The Wasp” Britten chose a more rapid
tempo, quarter note equaling 135, in order to portray the rapidity of the wasp’s flight
and/or the speed of its wings. In addition, the piano part usually has some sort of
oscillating sixteenth-note figure, presumably to again represent the velocity of the wasp’s
wings or to portray the busy nature of this particular insect. The unarticulated melodies
in the oboe represent flight. In “The Wasp” these melodies are a slurred dotted eighth-
sixteenth rhythm that may seem somewhat jagged for depicting flight. However, they are
appropriate here; the flight of a wasp is not the smooth affair that is the flight of a bird, or
even most other winged insects.
The form of “The Wasp” is a simple ABA. The piece begins in the key area of E
Major and ends in the key area of A Major. Measures 1-28 make up the initial A section.
This section begins and ends in E Major. It includes the previously mentioned sixteenth
note passage that is indicative of flight and haste. The oboe melody is the
aforementioned dotted-eighth-sixteenth note figure. However, in measure 24 the rhythm
in the oboe part accelerates: first to triplets, then sixteenth notes, then finally to a forte
trill just before the dramatic conclusion of the A section in E Major.
Just as in “The Grasshopper,” the B section (measures 29-39) of “The Wasp”
makes an abrupt start in a key that is in contrast to the key area that immediately
preceded it in the A section. In the case of “The Wasp,” the B section begins in a forte D
Major. The melodic lines in this section are slightly longer and more lyrical than those in
the A section. In the oboe part the final slurred eighth note in each measure is preceded
by a pitch that is always a minor second away from it. Britten’s use of a minor second in
this case may represent the wasp’s ability to sting. Or, since this particular music is
lyrical yet snipped at the ends with a minor second, it may represent the possibility of a

26
wasp stinging unexpectedly. The B section of “The Wasp” concludes with a sounding D
Major triad that is written atop a B Flat tonic pedal, which in performance would have
diminished in volume somewhat over the preceding six measures.
The return of the A section of “The Wasp,” in measure 40 is very similar
melodically to the initial appearance of the A section. However, in this case the section is
in the key of A Major. This is also the key in which “The Wasp” ends after its repetition
of the original A section’s melodies.
An interesting characteristic worth noting about the conclusions of both of the
Two Insect Pieces is the use of accent markings by the composer. The accents show
Britten’s desire for a somewhat bolder finish at the end of his pieces. The final notes are
accented in both “The Wasp” and “The Grasshopper,” just as they are in the Temporal
Variations by Britten. Also, the final movement of the Six Metamorphoses After Ovid,
“Arethusa,” ends with a crescendo spanning the final two measures—with the ultimate
note being the strongest again as a result.

27
 CHAPTER 4: TEMPORAL VARIATIONS

Benjamin Britten’s Temporal Variations was written for oboe and piano in 1936.
The work was completed on 12 December 1936 and premiered on 15 December of the
same year in London’s Wigmore Hall. The performers were Natalie Caine and Adolph
Hallis. Britten’s diary entry from this day indicates that he was pleased with the work. 1
However the Temporal Variations was not performed again until 1980, the year in which
it was published. 2
Britten’s work with the General Post Office film unit likely influenced his writing
style in a way that can be seen in the Temporal Variations. The style of writing for film
involves more colouration and effects than normally associated with typical art music.
This manifested itself in many of the composer’s compositions, including the Temporal
Variations’ “Chorale.” In this variation Britten used the oboe in the harmonic register
over chordal motion in the piano in order to create an ethereal tinta in this movement.
Also, in the “Polka” variation, Britten wrote rather unflatteringly for the oboe “giving
semitones new potency…but with less subtlety than the earlier pieces;” 3 presumably in
an attempt to create a type of effect rather than for outright beauty of melody and voice.
The Temporal Variations was composed at the end of 1936, a very significant
year for Britten. Earlier in 1936 Britten composed Our Hunting Fathers, a large-scale
symphonic song cycle for high voice and orchestra. For the text of Our Hunting Fathers
Britten collaborated with his colleague W.H. Auden. Britten was very pleased with the
song cycle and considered it to be his first important work. His diary, which he kept
from 1928-1938, attests to this. 4 It was in 1936 that Britten composed the quasi-song
cycle for oboe, the Temporal Variations, the same year of the composition of Our

1
Matthews, Colin. Preface to Temporal Variations, by Benjamin Britten. London: Faber
Music. 1980.
2
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical
Evolution. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 121.
3
Evans, Peter. The Music of Benjamin Britten. London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1979. 553.
4
Mitchell, Donald. Britten and Auden in the Thirties: The Year 1936. London: Faber and Faber,
1981. 19.

28
Hunting Fathers. Britten learned a great deal from his colleague W. H. Auden; the poet
introduced Britten to a wide range of thought about art, politics, sociology, and sexuality.
Our Hunting Fathers, which is fundamentally about the inhumanity of man in general,
stems from the ideals held by Auden and Britten in 1936. 5
There are some technical parallels between the Temporal Variations and Our
Hunting Fathers. Just as in the Temporal Variations, Our Hunting Fathers combines
straightforward forms and more ambiguous harmony. As an example, several
movements of Our Hunting Fathers contain a five-note cell that juxtaposes major and
minor tonalities. Britten was determined to have a unifying principle in the song-cycle
and chose to use a typical symphonic structure to bring a degree of absolutism to the
work. A model for this type of writing may have been Alban Berg, with whom Britten
wanted to study one point. In Berg’s Wozzeck less traditional tonality is combined with
more concrete forms. As a result, in the second act of Wozzeck one can see a type of
symphony with five movements that is hidden within the larger opera. 6
Much of the existing literature on Benjamin Britten discusses his respect for
Gustav Mahler’s orchestration and creation of lyrical melodies. In the case of Our
Hunting Fathers, and to some degree the Temporal Variations, it is possible for one to
see a spiritual kinship between Britten and Mahler. The use of a song-cycle by Britten,
whether in large-scale orchestral form or modified form for use in the oboe piece, points
to Mahler’s monumental works Das Lied von der Erde and the Kindertotenlieder. 7
Britten learned to write at a high rate of speed in the mid-1930’s in order to
deliver his film assignments on time. Interestingly, Britten’s oboe works were usually
composed rapidly during years in which he was busy with very large projects. This is
evidenced by the relatively high output of compositions by Britten during these years.
Britten completed Irish Reel, for orchestra, Night Mail, for chamber orchestra, Three
Divertimenti, for string quartet, and Russian Funeral, for brass and percussion ensemble
all during 1936. But the majority of Britten’s time composing in 1936 was devoted to

5
Cooke, Mervyn, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Benjamin Britten. Cambridge: The
Cambridge University Press, 1999. 262.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.

29
G.P.O. films. During this year he wrote music for several films: Peace of Britain,
Around the Village Green, Men of the Alps, The Saving of Bill Blewitt, Calendar of the
Year, Line to the Tschierva Hut, Four Barriers, Message from Geneva, Love from a
Stranger, The Way to the Sea, and Book Bargain.
The “Theme,” which begins the Temporal Variations, starts in G minor. In
measure 12 the key area of E-Flat minor appears by way of E-Flat minor triads in both
hands of the piano. This is followed by triads of A-Flat minor and F diminished, which
further suggest the key of E-Flat minor. However, harmonic ambiguity appears at the
end of the “Theme” with the return of the oboe to the opening D. This return to D is
aided by strong voice-leading in the precedent accented C-Sharp. The lack of any
harmonic support in the piano leaves the listener with a feeling of ambiguity, questioning
whether the movement has arrived at D or at the sounding B minor that is played in the
piano prior to the oboe’s concluding figure. 8 It is noteworthy that in the opening C-Sharp
to D motive of the “Theme” that the lower note is always accented and the upper note is
never accented. This will be examined later in more detail.
Also of significance in the “Theme” is the interplay between A and B motives.
The initial lyrical motion in the oboe, often by motion of a second or a sixth, represents
the A motive. B is represented by the more rapid countermelody in the piano. The A and
B motives can be seen throughout the Temporal Variations, usually morphing form in
some way while retaining a similar relationship to one another. This interplay between
lyricism and turbulence is somewhat reminiscent of the juxtaposition of the march-like
accompaniment with singing lyricism in the opening of Britten’s Phantasy Quartet, Opus
2.
The “Oration” is centered on the key area of E-Flat, the last key that was firmly
established in the preceding “Theme.” As in the “Theme,” the opening of the “Oration”
is harmonically ambiguous. Elements of G minor and E Flat are intermingled. The
brilliant opening piano gesture leading to the forte oboe entrance is the first rhetorical
device that manifests itself in slightly different forms repeatedly throughout the

8
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical
Evolution. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 122.

30
movement. The examples of this device in measures 24 and 39 are the most assertive in
E-Flat. 9
The “Oration” is through-composed. This is affirmed by the title itself as well as
the ‘Lento quasi recitativo’ designation at the top of the movement. The A and B themes
are written in an interconnected manner in “Oration.” For example, measures 22-23 are a
version of A, which lead to a more declamatory B in the oboe at 24, followed by another
version of A in measure 25. The movement has a secondary harmonic center of D-Flat
that can be seen in measure 29 and E minor in measure 31-32. Measures 34-35 have an
allegiance with both D-Flat and E-Flat minor. The “Oration” ends in an inconclusive
manner on the dominant of E-Flat minor. Britten’s propensity for ambiguity is seen in
the non-standard form of this movement as well as its less concrete harmonies. 10
The “March” is centered in the key area of A Flat and is in ternary form. A triplet
march rhythm is present in every bar of this movement. The interval of the major
seventh is omnipresent in this movement and recalls, in an inverted form, the A motive
from the beginning of the “Theme.” For example, theme A in the March is initially
represented by the motion from E to D-Sharp at the beginning of the movement.
Additionally, the piano plays the interval of a major seventh when it takes the A theme
from the oboe in measure 49. 11
In measures 50-51 of the “March” the oboe plays a triplet figure similar to the
opening figure; but in this case it leads up to a series of staccato E-Flats preceded by
lower neighbor grace notes. This figure, in addition to the harmonies in this section of
the movement, confirms the key of A-Flat. 12
Despite it’s underpinning by the march rhythm, the central section that begins in
measure 60 is fairly lyrical. This section also contains the reference to the “Theme” as
seen in the piano starting in measure 60. Britten takes the movement to the key of C-Flat
at measure 71, where it will remain until its return to A-Flat at measure 76. The

9
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical
Evolution. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 123.
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid.
12
Mark, Christopher. 124.

31
movement concludes with chromatic motion in both voices that ends abruptly and is
followed by an attaca movement: “Exercises.” 13
The initial oboe melody in “Exercises” has to be interpreted against the key area
of D, which is simultaneously present in the piano. In measure 90 the piano plays a
lyrical, yet chromatic, melody that bears resemblance to the melody seen in the “March,”
initially in measure 48. Also in measure 90 the oboe’s A motive is inverted at the same
time as the dominant pitch of A appears in the bass. From measure 92 onwards, the
centrality of D is no longer present as the piano part contains chromatic motion that is
transitional. In measure 99 an interplay between the oboe and piano begins that is a
battle for tonality: the piano repeatedly cadences on F while the oboe repeatedly
cadences on F-Sharp. However, F-Sharp eventually wins out in measure 103 and
becomes the prevailing key area. In measure 118 the movement climaxes in D minor
with a clear assertion of that triad in the piano. “Exercises” retains its emphasis on D for
the remainder of the movement. 14 The strong emphasis on D gives a dominant
preparation for the upcoming movement, “Commination,” which begins in G minor.
“Commination” is primarily a textural variation. 15 The movement bears one of
the strongest resemblances of all of the variations to the “Theme.” The movement is in G
minor and does not stray from the key. In “Commination” the material that is played by
the oboe is borrowed from the “Theme,” but this time it is played in the lower octave of
the instrument, which is more strident, or fuoco. The differences between the
“Commination” and the “Theme” have more to do with the harsher color and texture of
the “Commination” than with harmony or form. Predictably, the word commination is
defined as “a denunciation or threatening, especially from a divine source.” 16 The tempo
marking for “Commination” is Adagio con fuoco and the dynamic levels are
predominantly higher than those of the “Theme.” The “Theme” is centered around a

13
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical
Evolution. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 124.
14
Mark, Christopher. 124-125.
15
Ibid.
16
Landau, Sidney I., ed. The Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary. The Reader’s
Digest Association. 1966. 272.

32
pianissimo dynamic and its tempo indication is “Andante rubato.” Although the material
from the A motive of the “Theme” is basically the same but in a lower octave, the B
motive has been altered. In “Commination” the B motive in the piano, starting in the first
full measure, is a more liquid figure (sextuplet leading into septuplet) as opposed to the
more rigid accented septuplet of the “Theme.”
In addition to the textural diversions accomplished by “Commination,” the
movement serves another purpose. Although “Commination” is not complex, it is worth
observing its placement in the Temporal Variations as a whole. The movements of the
Temporal Variations are grouped two by two: slow, slow, fast, fast, etc. The
“Commination” fits nicely into a group of two slow movements. In addition, the two
movements most similar to the “Theme” itself are clearly “Commination” and
“Resolution.” These movements are first, fifth, and ninth, respectively—all equidistant
from one another. One might think that this is coincidence; however, given the
meticulous detail present in Britten’s work, the author suspects that the placement of
“Commination” at dead center was intentional on the part of the composer in a possible
attempt to bring balance to the piece and maintain a presence of the original thematic
material.
The “Chorale” is in E-Flat minor and is distinguished by its placement of isolated
pitches in the oboe that are in semitonal conflict with the diatonicism in the piano. This
can be seen in measures 151, 154, etc. There are many purely diatonic triads in this
movement. The oboe is pitted against the piano in the “Chorale” harmonically, but the
effect is more ethereal than purely dissonant due to the writing for the oboe that is always
in a higher register than the piano. In measure 157 the “Chorale” cadences on E-Flat
Major, moving away from the initial E-Flat minor. In measure 158 Britten introduces a
minor ninth to the E-Flat dominant chord, lending more chromaticism to the movement.
B-Flat is the final tonality of the “Chorale,” however, Britten added an E-Flat to the final
chord in the piano in a typically Brittenesque move to add ambiguity. The E-Flat will not
be fully resolved until the movement following the “Chorale,” the “Waltz.” 17

17
Mark, Chistopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical
Evolution. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1995. 125-126.

33
 The “Waltz” begins in E-Flat with an oscillation between tonic chords in the
second-inversion and ii7 chords. The movement employs the A motive from measures
13-15 of the “Theme”; specifically, this can be seen in the descending motion in measure
176. The “tremolando” figure, or B motive, from the “Theme” is also used in the
“Waltz” in slightly modified form in measures 190-191. The central section of the
movement, measures 190-208, includes interplay between C and G-Flat. These two keys
are interestingly equidistant from the initial tonic of E-Flat minor, which the “Waltz”
returns to for its conclusion. 18
The lightweight “Polka” begins in the key of D Major. The oboe melody in the
first few bars is a descending major seventh. This can be interpreted as an inversion of
the initial fragment of the A motive from the “Theme.” The central section of the
“Polka” (measures 247-271) is based on a D7 chord. In this case the chord is not
functioning as a dominant chord, as one might suspect, in preparation for the final
movement in G Major. Rather, this particular chord a non-resolving seventh-chord which
is used to form the harmonic foundation for the section. This “natural seventh”
phenomenon is highly characteristic of later works by Britten, yet curiously present in
this early work by the composer. 19 In measure 271 there is a recapitulation of the
original thematic material, again in D Major. In this final section of the “Polka” the oboe
reaches its melodic peak of d3 shortly before the accented conclusion of the movement
“Resolution” is a highly appropriate title for the final movement of the Temporal
Variations. The melodic material in the oboe part is borrowed directly from the
“Theme.” The movement “resolves” by coming back to the tonality of G, but in this
case, G Major and not G minor. “Resolution” begins in the key area of B-Flat and makes
progressive motions around the circle of fifths, by way of the chordal motions in the
piano part, until the key area of G Major is eventually reached in measure 308. 20 The
final D that is played in the oboe is accented. This is in contrast to the accent that, in

18
Mark, Christopher. Early Benjamin Britten: A Study of Stylistic and Technical
Evolution. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1995. 126-127.
19
Mark, Christopher. 127-128.
20
Ibid.

34
every other case, is on the C-Sharp in the “Theme” and the “Resolution.” The accent on
the fifth also confirms the “resolution” to G Major at the end of the piece.
The Temporal Variations is representative of writing that is very typical of
Benjamin Britten and in general, the harmonic language that is used is very
straightforward for a piece that was written in the 1930’s. Although Britten often chose
to add a degree of ambiguity to the harmonies in the piece, he never opted to fully depart
from the rules of common practice musical writing. Triads and traditional
dominant/tonic relationships are the basis for this work. The non-chord tones that add
ambiguity are present in order to add color rather than to form the basis for the
composition. Rhythmically, the Temporal Variations is not a complex work; Britten had
chosen in this case to avoid mixed-meters and cross-rhythms. As with the other works
for oboe by Britten, one can see that very close attention was given to details such as
dynamic indication and articulation markings. For example, in some instances material
that Britten borrowed from previous movements can be seen with new markings that
contribute to very different musical effects than were heard previously. All of the above
mentioned characteristics of the Temporal Variations are highly typical of Britten’s work.
Although not a large-scale piece, the Temporal Variations is a standard recital piece in
the oboe repertoire, as well as one of the more important works to be written for oboe
during the Twentieth Century.

35
 CHAPTER 5: SIX METAMORPHOSES AFTER OVID, OPUS 49

The inspiration for Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49, came to him
from the Metamophoses by the Roman poet Ovid. As stated in the first chapter, Ovid
lived from 43 B.C. to 17 A.D. Ovid’s Metamorphoses are a collection of legends that in
many cases deal with transformation. Ovid’s Metamorphoses are themselves influenced
by the writings of the ancient Greeks, in particular, Homer and Boios. 1
Benjamin Britten wrote the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid in 1951, which was the
same year in which he devoted the bulk of his time to writing his opera Billy Budd, based
on the novel by the American writer Herman Melville. Melville is famous for writing sea
stories that are based, to some degree, on his own experience as a sailor. It is not
surprising that Britten, who by twentieth century Continental standards was not a pure
musical innovator in the mold of the Second Viennese School for instance, would find
inspiration in this nineteenth century author—in a way paying homage to the artistic
ways of the past.
The majority of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid deal with a character that
undergoes a transition in form or state of mortality. In the four movements involving
actual metamorphoses in form, the respective legends from Ovid always depict the
metamorphosis or transition being initiated by a more powerful being. The legends from
Ovid are not unlike the literary basis for the opera Billy Budd. Billy Budd is a transitional
character; he is initially an innocent youth. However, as a result of malicious shipmates
who are more articulate than he, he inadvertently kills a man and is later executed
himself. The initial malice towards, violence against, and execution of Billy Budd in
Britten’s opera comes from other persons in Billy’s environment.2 In the end, Billy Budd
was a victim of more powerful people, just as many of the characters from the Six
Metamorphoses after Ovid were victims, in one way or another, of beings more powerful
than themselves.

1
Ovid, Metamorphoses. Translated with Into. by Innes, Mary M. Baltimore: Penguin Books,
1955. pgs. 12-13
2
Cooke, Mervyn and Philip Reed. Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1993. 1-14.

36
 Since it is impossible for composers to write in a vacuum, Billy Budd is likely to
have influenced Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid. The music of Billy Budd took
over a year for Britten to write and months more to score. During 1951, Britten was able
to write only two other compositions: the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid and Abraham
and Isaac. Since the Six Metamorphoses deal with personal transitions on the part of the
subjects, just as Billy Budd does, it stands to reason that both the opera and the solo oboe
work share this characteristic in part due to proximity of composition. In fact, it is
possible that Billy Budd could very well have led to the composition of The Six
Metamorphoses after Ovid.
Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid was written for the British oboist Joy
Boughton. It was premiered in an outdoor venue at the Aldeburg Festival of 1951 by the
dedicatee. Incidentally, the manuscript copy accidentally fell from Britten’s hand at the
premiere and into a nearby pond. 3 The reviews were generally positive, as one example
from Music and Letters reads: “...each piece is like a pastoral improvisation, where the
shepherd’s pipe can never remember the original starting point of a tune and loses itself
in a fresh excursion of exquisite musical verbiage.” 4
The Six Metamorphoses after Ovid is one of the few notable compositions written
for an unaccompanied wind instrument in the Twentieth Century. 5 At present, this piece
is by far the most frequently performed unaccompanied composition for solo oboe.
Additionally, the work has become a standard part of the oboe’s solo repertoire and a
common piece for students and professionals to study and perform.
“Pan,” the first movement, includes the descriptive prose: “Pan, who played upon
the reed pipe which was Syrinx, his beloved.” 6 Pan is portrayed by Ovid as a strong,
powerful god with a very high opinion of himself. Pan had an appetite for naïve young

3
Kennedy, Michael. Stanley Sadie, ed. Master Musicians: Britten. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2001. 57.
4
Capell, Richard, ed. “Review of ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Op. 49,’ by Bejamin Britten.”
Music and Letters, 33, 1952. 365-366.
5
Evans, Peter. “Benjamin Britten,” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Stanley Sadie, ed. London: Macmillan, 1980. 3: 293-308.
6
Britten, Benjamin. Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49. London: Boosey and Hawkes,
1952. 1.

37
women and—like most other gods—usually got what he wanted. 7 In Ovid, Pan pursued
Syrinx, a wood nymph, by speaking seductively to her. She gave him only scorn in
return and fled into the forest to the point of the Ladon River. At this point, Syrinx
prayed for transformation in order to elude Pan and her prayers were granted. As Pan
reached for Syrinx, she vanished, and he instead ended up with a handful of marsh reeds
that produced a tone reminiscent of the nymph. 8 When one takes into account Ovid’s
prose, “Pan” depicts not the morphing of Syrinx into reed pipes, but rather the experience
from the perspective of Pan.
As can be seen in most of the movements from the Six Metamorphoses After
Ovid, “Pan” is in ABA form. The pre-metamorphosis character is depicted in the A
section and the action of the metamorphosis is depicted in the B section of the movement.
The character is depicted in its transformed state in the return of the A section. 9 As with
the rest of the movements in this work, there are elements of the A section intermingled
in the B section and vice-versa. This simultaneously adds a touch of ambiguity and
connectivity that is a hallmark of Britten’s music.
The first five measures of “Pan” make up the A section. This section is based on
the A Major scale and features musical lines that are scalar and flowing with four
fermatas. These fermatas serve to strengthen the section as a whole by setting up each
phrase with a brief melodic silence. The forward motion of the section is aided by the
use of unstable scale degrees on the final two fermatas. The section ends on an
unresolved F-Sharp, adding ambiguity as it sets up the transformative B section. 10
The B section encompasses the music between measures 6 and 10. The repeated
use of A-Sharp creates a tension that permeates the section. In measures 7-9, the tension
created by the A-Sharp is resolved to A-natural at the end of each measure. Intervals of

7
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise. School of Music, The Florida State
University. 2000. 23-33.
8
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Horace Gregory, trns. New York: Signet Classic, 2001. 51-52.
9
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal of
the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 23.
10
Ibid.

38
the whole-tone scale are outlined in measure 10, further heightening tension by adding an
element of instability. 11
The A section of “Pan” returns in compressed form at measure 11 with elements
of the B section (repeated A-Sharps) added in. The final two measures suggest the
Lydian mode on D. 12 In addition, D is the tonic note of the fundamental scale of the
oboe, D Major. As is the case with many of his oboe works, Britten chose to utilize this
pitch to conclude this particular piece. The final phrase ties together different elements
of “Pan” and gives a sense of resolution to the movement, while depicting the completed
transformation of Syrinx. 13
The second movement of the Six Metamorphoses is “Phaeton.” In Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, Phaeton was the son of the sun god, Phoebus. Due to the taunting of
other children, Phaeton approached Phoebus to verify that he was indeed his father. In
order to prove his paternity, Phoebus granted Phaeton any wish. Phaeton then asked for
the use of his father’s chariot and its wing-footed horses for one day. With regret,
Phoebus allowed Phaeton to use this lightweight chariot. Immediately, the horses sensed
that Phoebus was not aboard the chariot and leapt high into the sky. Phaeton was so
frightened that he dropped the reins, at once losing control of the chariot. The chariot
veered upwards and then made a steep descent. The earth caught fire and Atlas had
difficulty holding up the sky. Phoebus mustered the strength of all of the gods in an
effort to prevent the complete destruction of the earth. A lightning bolt was hurled
through the sky to prevent any further destruction, charring Phaeton and causing him to
crash towards the earth. The earth was saved. Phaeton landed into a river and Nymphs
subsequently buried his scorched body. 14
“Phaeton” does not exactly fit the definition of a metamorphosis. Nor does
Britten indicate, by his music or descriptive prose, that the movement is to be considered
a metamorphosis. Although “Phaeton” follows an ABA form, the B section in this case

11
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal
of the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 23.
12
Hiramoto, Stephen. 24.
13
Ibid.
14
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Horace Gregory, trns. New York: Signet Classic, 2001. 53-68.

39
is not music that represents transformation. Rather, it is a simple variation of the A
section that does not significantly elaborate upon the melodic ideas of the A section.
Furthermore, the return of the A section does not incorporate ideas from the B section as
do the transformative movements of the Six Metamorphoses After Ovid. 15
“Phaeton” is more similar to the Two Insect Pieces by Britten than to the more
transformative movements of the Six Metamorphoses After Ovid. As with the Two Insect
Pieces, the music in “Phaeton” is representative of a character in action and not one that
is involved in any type of metamorphosis. This is confirmed by Britten’s prose:
“Phaeton, who rode upon the chariot of the sun for one day and was hurled into the river
Padus by a thunderbolt.” 16
Measures 1-18 make up the A section of “Phaeton.” For the most part, this
section is built on an octatonic scale that is based on G. 17 The melody covers a wide
range of the oboe, yet does so by motion that is in small intervals. This is integral with
the idea that the A section represents horses “hurtling themselves forward, galloping into
the air, and tearing through the clouds.” 18
The B Section of “Phaeton” is built from C and D triads with the addition of some
non-chord tones. 19 In measure 27 one can see the outline of a C7 chord that lends a touch
of ambiguity as it resolves to a section centered on the pitch of A in the subsequent bar.
At the same time the A-centric music in measure 28 is prepared with the flat seventh, B
flat. This less-concrete use of functional tonality is very common in the music of Britten,
including all of his oboe pieces.

15
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal
of the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 26.
16
Britten, Benjamin. Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Op. 49. London: Boosey and Hawkes,
1952. 2.
17
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise, School of Music, The Florida State University. 2000. 35-36.
18
Mulder, Frank. “An Introduction and Programmatical Analysis of the ‘Six Metamorphoses
After Ovid’ by Benjamin Britten.” In the Journal of The International Double Reed Society, no. 20 (July
1992). 67-74.
19
Mattson, Sheri Lee. 36.

40
 The articulation of the B section is slurred, in contrast to the A section’s staccato.
It is plausible that the smoother melodies and higher register used in the B section
represents the point at which Phaeton reaches a high altitude, is numbed with fear, drops
the reins, and loses control of the chariot. 20 The latter is confirmed by Britten’s
combination of more unstable harmonics in measure 27 with a crescendo dynamic.
The recapitulation of the A section occurs at measure 28 in “Phaeton.” At this
point the thematic material returns, as does the staccato articulation. The recapitulation
of the A section is centered on the pitch of A and is again based on the octatonic scale.
Measures 38-41 are a brief coda that pulls together earlier ideas from “Phaeton.” These
measures likely represent the “hurtling through the sky towards the river” that Britten
mentioned at the top of the movement. Or possibly, according to Frank Mulder, the
measures are representative of the river “receiving (Phaeton’s) charred body” and its
subsequent burial by nymphs. 21
“Niobe” is portrayed in the Six Metamophoses after Ovid as: “Niobe, who
lamenting the death of her fourteen children, was turned into a mountain.” 22 Niobe is a
“noble lamentation” 23 that depicts this sad character from Mt. Sipylus. Niobe had
fourteen children: seven sons and seven daughters. She felt superior to Latona, a Titan,
since Latona only had two children. Enraged, Latona sent her two children, Apollo and
Diana, to kill all of Niobe’s offspring. Niobe was so sad after the death of all of her
children that she was transformed into a stone on a mountain, where streams of tears
trickled down her face. 24
Similar to “Pan,” “Niobe” follows an ABA form with the A sections giving a
musical picture of Niobe before and after metamorphosis, and the B section depicting the

20
Mulder, Frank. “An Introduction and Programmatical Analysis of the ‘Six Metamorphoses
After Ovid’ by Benjamin Britten.” In the Journal of The International Double Reed Society, no. 20 (July
1992). 69.
21
Mulder, Frank. 70.
22
Britten, Benjamin. Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Op. 49. London: Boosey and Hawkes,
1952. 3.
23
Capell, Richard, ed. “Review of ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Op. 49,’ by Bejamin Britten.”
Music and Letters, 33, 1952. 366.
24
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Horace Gregory, trns. New York: Signet Classic, 2001. 167-172.

41
metamorphosis itself. The entire movement is based on the development of a singular
melodic idea presented within the first two measures. 25 Britten gave “Niobe” the
marking “piangendo,” which in Italian means “crying.” 26 The melodic line itself in this
movement is somewhat representative of crying and tears, as it is made of very liquid
slurred phrases that often move downwards.
The A Section (measures 1-10) of “Niobe” begins in D-Flat Major, which the
entire movement is based upon. D-Flat is a more covered sounding key on the oboe and
very appropriate for use in a lamenting movement such as “Niobe.” Britten was a fine
orchestrator who studied Mahler and had a keen knowledge of the various possibilities of
the keys of the oboe.
There are three phrases in the A section of “Niobe,” each of which begins with a
consonant descending head motive, followed by dissonant ascending material that is
resolved by descending scalar motion. This pattern gives the movement its impetus and
is evocative of tears. 27 In the legend of Niobe her seven sons are killed first. First, six
are savagely killed, then the last is killed after he pled to the gods to spare him. An
interesting detail in “Niobe” is that in the first two phrases Britten chose to use six notes
for the first phrase and seven for the second. 28 It is unlikely that this is a coincidence;
this is the type of hidden detail that is common in the music of Britten. The A section of
“Niobe” concludes with the notes A, G, and E used prominently. It is possible that the
use of these notes is suggesting the dominant of the Phrygian scale degree; since in
legend, Niobe is from Phrygia. 29

25
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal
of the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 24.
26
Love, Catherine E. and M. Clari, eds. Collins Gem Italian Dictionary. Glasgow: Omnia Books
Ltd. 2001. 196.
27
Hiramoto, Stephen. 24.
28
Mulder, Frank. “An Introduction and Programmatical Analysis of the ‘Six Metamorphoses after
Ovid by Benjamin Britten.” In the Journal of the International Double Reed Society, no. 20 (July 1992).
70.
29
Hiramoto, Stephen. 24.

42
 The B section of “Niobe” occurs in measures 10-19. The melody is reminiscent
of the A section but the rhythm is changed. 30 The music in the B section becomes more
and more chromatic as it progresses; at the same time there is an indication of
“animando.” These elements were combined by Britten to represent the metamorphosis
of Niobe into the face of a mountain. At the conclusion of the section there is a fermata
over a rest. At this point the metamorphosis of Niobe is complete.
The return of the A section in measure 20 features the initial two bars from the
beginning of “Niobe.” The final four measures utilize only the pitches from the first
measure of the movement and are marked “senza express.,” strengthening the idea of
Niobe’s transformation into stone. 31
The fourth movement of the Six Metamorphose after Ovid is “‘Bacchus,’ at
whose feasts is heard the noise of gaggling women’s tattling tongues and shouting out of
boys.” 32 “Bacchus” is the singular movement in this work that is not at home within the
surroundings of the other movements. In this movement, Bacchus makes no
transformation of form, or even state of mortality, as Phaeton did. 33
“Bacchus” is not based on a specific story. The movement is more a
characterization of what a Bacchanal would have been like as stated in the poetry of
Ovid. Bacchus or his priests oversaw these feasts, which were in worship of Bacchus
himself. At the Bacchanals, there was much eating and drinking. Bacchus was usually as
drunk as his subjects. Often, worshipers became so frenzied that they tore apart animals
or humans with their bare hands. 34

30
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise, School of Music, The Florida State University. 2000. 45.
31
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal of
the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 25.
32
Britten, Benjamin. Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Op. 49. London. Boosey and Hawkes,
1952. 4.
33
Mulder, Frank. “An Introduction and Programmatical Analysis of the ‘Six Metamorphoses after
Ovid by Benjamin Britten.” In the Journal of the International Double Reed Society, no. 20 (July 1992).
72.
34
Mattson, Sheri Lee. 53.

43
 The movement is in rondo form and there are five sections: A (refrain), B
(episode), A’ (abbreviated refrain), C (episode), and A (coda based on refrain). Measures
1-14 form the initial A section which has a tonal center of F Major and is in binary form.
Measures 6-14 are a variation on the first five measures. This section represents
Bacchus, who wandered drunk through his Bacchanal. The “Piu vivo” B section
represents quick activity, possibly voices or motion. The section spans measures 15-24
and is centered in A Major. The truncated return of A happens in measures 25-32 and is
again centered in F Major. This again represents a drunken Bacchus stumbling around
his feast. The rapid “con moto” C section, or second episode, represents the “tattling
tongues” of the women at the feast. This section is in C Major, the dominant of the A
section. The C section is characterized by intervallic motion that is mainly in thirds as
well as long legato lines. The coda introduces new material in its beginning: fermata
low C’s followed by falsetto punctuations. This represents Bacchus belching. In the
final five bars, the original theme from the A section returns and brings the movement
back to F Major. 35
The fifth movement of the work is “Narcissus, who fell in love with his own
image and became a flower.” 36 In the legend from Ovid, Narcissus was a handsome
youth who was loved for his beauty by many women and men. However, he shunned all
those who loved him, including a young man who prayed to Nemesis to curse Narcissus
by causing him to fall in love with his own image. One day an exhausted Narcissus
spotted a pool of still water and stopped for a drink. As Narcissus bent over to take a
drink from the pool, he fell in love with the beautiful image staring back at him, not
realizing that the image was his own. He tried to embrace the beautiful youth, but upon
touching the water, ripples caused the image to disappear. Narcissus wondered after a
while if a supernatural wall separated him from his true love. Narcissus eventually
believed that the beautiful youth was returning his love, because he returned all of his
expressions exactly. It was at this point that Narcissus realized that he had fallen in love

35
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise, School of Music, The Florida State University. 2000. 53-64.
36
Britten, Benjamin. Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Op. 49. London. Boosey and Hawkes,
1952. 6.

44
with his own image. He then began to abuse himself but stopped when he realized the
pain that it brought to the reflection in the pool. Narcissus then sat perfectly still and
stared at his reflection until he died. After his death the Nymphs grieved for him, but
upon their return, after a time, Narcissus had vanished. In the place of Narcissus was a
golden flower with white petals. 37
“Narcissus” is in ternary form. It begins in F Minor, and ends in C Major. This
particular movement is in 6/8 meter and is the first movement in the Six Metamorphoses
after Ovid to have an absolute time signature. The result of this is a more rigid
framework with regard to melodic lines and phrases than was heard in previous
movements. The use of an absolute time signature could very well be programmatic in
nature, representing the rigid nature of Narcissus’ love affair with a mirror image of
himself. 38
The A section of “Narcissus” occurs in measures 1-9. This section presents a
melody that represents the image of Narcissus himself and is characterized by a recurring
sextuplet figure that is much like a rhythmically regulated trill. The B section of the
movement is made up of measures 10-23 and represents the metamorphosis of Narcissus.
Beginning in measure 10, the notes printed with downward stems represent Narcissus and
those with upward stems represent his reflected image. The notes with downward stems
in measures 10-20 make up the entirety of the initial melody of “Narcissus” from
measures 1-7. The musical reflection of Narcissus is accomplished with the counterpoint
that is formed by the inversion of the direction of the intervals of the original melody’s
fragments. Beginning in measure 19, the counterpoint is no longer formed by the
inversion of the direction of the intervals of the original. Instead, it moves in the same
direction while the intervallic distance between the two lines (real and reflected images)
decreases, until the two lines are indistinguishable from one another. The return of the A
section begins in measure 24. In this section, the melody of the upwardly stemmed notes

37
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Horace Gregory, trns. New York: Signet Classic, 2001. 95-100.
38
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise, School of Music, The Florida State University. 2000. 66.

45
is integral with their downwardly stemmed counterparts. This section represents
Narcissus in the final state of a flower as it brings the movement to a close. 39
The final movement of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid is “Arethusa, who,
flying from the love of Alpheus the river god, was turned into a fountain.” 40 In the Ovid
Arethusa was a nymph who lived in Achaes and was well known for her beauty. One
day, Arethusa went swimming naked in a stream. After swimming for a while, she heard
a voice that turned out to be Alfeus, the river god, who was in love with her. Arethusa
was frightened and immediately fled, but could not outpace Alpheus. In her fear,
Arethusa prayed to Diana, goddess of the hunt, to protect her. Diana subsequently
created a dense cloud to hide Arethusa. Alfeus searched for the nymph in the cloud but
could not find her. Eventually, after a cold, nervous sweat began flowing over her,
Arethusa became a stream. Before Alfeus could reach the nymph, the earth opened up
and she poured deep into the opening. Arethusa finally resurfaced on the island of
Ortygia, near Sicily, where she became a fountain. 41
“Arethusa” is in ABA form and, similar to some of the preceding movements,
takes on the familiar pattern of character, metamorphosis, transformed character. The
first A section represents Arethusa’s flight from Alfeus and her desperate call to Diana
for help. The B section of “Arethusa” represents Arethusa in the cloud and her
transformation into a stream. The return of the A section represents Arethusa’s re-
emergence as a fountain. 42
The first A section (measures 1-41) of “Arethusa” is firmly in the key of D Major
and employs a largely descending line that includes many descending skips of a third. As
with previous movements of this work, the B and A sections are slightly intermingled. In
this case the descending scale in measures 32, 35, and 38 foreshadows the descending

39
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal of
the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 25.
40
Britten, Benjamin. Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Op. 49. London. Boosey and Hawkes,
1952. 7.
41
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Horace Gregory, trns. New York: Signet Classic, 2001. 156-158.
42
Mattson, Sheri Lee. An Analysis of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid, Opus 49,
for Solo Oboe. Doctoral Treatise, School of Music, The Florida State University. 2000. 77.

46
motion in the B section. This section, in measures 42-61, is harmonically ambiguous up
to its ending on the pitch of A, which prepares the return of D Major in the final A
section. 43 This harmonic ambiguity is evocative of the blind conditions of the cloud in
which Arethusa was hidden.
The B section of this movement is typified by its dolce, pianissimo trills. These
are similar to the pianissimo sextuplet figures in “Narcissus.” The brief passages of
multidirectional scalar motion beginning in measures 44, 52, and 61 are reminiscent of
the melodies in the A sections. The final A section of “Arethusa” starts in measure 62
and begins in A Minor, but quickly moves to D Major. The melodic lines are basically
those of the A section with some new intervals added from the B section. The ending of
Arethusa, starting in measure 72, parallels the opening statement of the movement. 44
The Six Metamorphoses after Ovid ends in a manner similar to the Temporal
Variations; both works end in an affirmative manner at a strong dynamic level.
Additionally, both pieces end with the oboe’s middle D. As mentioned before, D is the
tonic of the oboe’s fundamental key, D Major. It is unlikely that this is a coincidence;
Britten is known to have favored the musical norms of the past over “modern”
complexity. The oboe parts of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Temporal Variations,
and Phantasy Quartet all end on D, the foundational pitch of the oboes of antiquity and
today. Possible further proof that Britten respected the artistic ways of the past lies in the
final metamorphosis, “Arethusa,” which shares its last “letter” with the name of Ovid,
that being a D.

43
Hiramoto, Stephen. “An Analysis of Britten’s ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid.’” The Journal of
the International Double Reed Society, vol. 22, no. 2. 1999. 25.
44
Ibid.

47
 APPENDIX A

DISCOGRAPHY
Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2

Christy, Judy, oboe, and the Christy Oboe Quartet. The Christy Oboe Quartet. 2005.

Dent, Simon and members of the Munich Soloist Ensemble. Schumann, Britten:
Fantasies. Amati, 9801. 1999.

Francis, Sarah, oboe, with Michael Dussek, piano, and members of the Delmé Quartet.
Britten: Music for Oboe and for Piano. Helois, CDH55154. 2003.

Hunt, Gordon, oboe and the Tale Quartet. Oboe Music by Britten, Bax, and Bliss. BIS,
CD-763, 1997.

Leleux, François, oboe. Les Nouveaux Interprètes. Harmonia Mundi France,

HMN 911556. 1995.

Pailthorpe, Emily. Though Lovers Be Lost. Oboe Classics, CC 2008. 2004.

Pecha, Pamela and members of the Audubon Quartet. English Music for Oboe and
Strings. Innovative Music Productions, 6701032. 1996.

Schellenberger, Hansjörg. Benjamin Britten, Musik mit Oboe. Camerata, CAMM

130038. 1997.

Schmalfuss, Gernot, oboe, with Mamiko Watanabe, piano, and members of the
Mannheim String Quartet. MD&G (Dabringhaus & Grimm) Gold, CD 3010925,
2000.

Speller, Eric, oboe. Contrastes. Ambroisie, 9909. 2003.

Wakao, Keisuke, oboe. Keisuke Wakao…with friends from the Boston Symphony
Orchestra. Pentatone, SACD PTC 5186 018. 2004.

Woods, Pamela Pecha, oboe and members of the Audubon String Quartet. Bax-Bliss-
Britten: Music for Oboe and Strings. By Benjamin Britten. Telarc, CD 80205.
1990.

Two Insect Pieces

Benet, Michel, oboe and Sabine Vatin, piano. Hautbois and Piano: Metamorphoses.
Fossati of Paris, FOSS7030, 2002.

49
Francis, Sarah, oboe, with Michael Dussek, piano, and members of the Delmé Quartet.
Britten: Music for Oboe and for Piano. Helois, CDH55154. 2003.

Leleux, François, oboe. Les Nouveaux Interprètes. Harmonia Mundi France,

HMN 911556. 1995.

Schellenberger, Hansjörg. Benjamin Britten, Musik mit Oboe. Camerata, CAMM

130038. 1997.

Schmalfuss, Gernot, oboe, with Mamiko Watanabe, piano, and members of the
Mannheim String Quartet. MD&G (Dabringhaus & Grimm) Gold, CD 3010925,
2000.

Speller, Eric, oboe. Contrastes. Ambroisie, 9909. 2003.

Temporal Variations

Benet, Michel, oboe and Sabine Vatin, piano. Hautbois and Piano: Metamorphoses.
Fossati of Paris, FOSS7030, 2002.

Daniel, Nicholas, oboe, with the Northern Sinfonia and Steuart Bedford, cond. Britten:
Simple Symphony, Temporal Variations, Suite on English Folk Tunes. Naxos,
8.557207. 200-.

Francis, Sarah, oboe, with Michael Dussek, piano, and members of the Delmé Quartet.
Britten: Music for Oboe and for Piano. Helois, CDH55154. 2003.

Indermuhle, Thomas, oboe, and Kalle Randalu, piano. Britten, Haas, Hindemith.
Camerata Records, 30CM 449. 1997.

Leleux, François, oboe. Les Nouveaux Interprètes. Harmonia Mundi France,

HMN 911556. 1995.

Schellenberger, Hansjörg. Benjamin Britten, Musik mit Oboe. Camerata, CAMM

130038. 1997.

Schmalfuss, Gernot, oboe, with Mamiko Watanabe, piano, and members of the
Mannheim String Quartet. MD&G (Dabringhaus & Grimm) Gold, CD 3010925,
2000.

Speller, Eric, oboe. Contrastes. Ambroisie, 9909. 2003.

50
Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49

Ambrose-King, Nancy, oboe. Evocations. Boston Records, BR-1030CD, 1999.

Benet, Michel, oboe and Sabine Vatin, piano. Hautbois and Piano: Metamorphoses.
Fossati of Paris, FOSS7030, 2002.

Carter, Roy. Britten:....SixMetamorphoses. Capitol, 55398. 1996.

Dent, Simon and members of the Munich Soloist Ensemble. Schumann, Britten:
Fantasies. Amati, 9801. 1999.

Francis, Sarah, oboe, with Michael Dussek, piano, and members of the Delmé Quartet.
Britten: Music for Oboe and for Piano. Helois, CDH55154. 2003.

Hunt, Gordon. Soliloquy-British Music for Solo Oboe. BIS, CD 769. 1998.

Indermuhle, Thomas, oboe, and Kalle Randalu, piano. Britten, Haas, Hindemith.
Camerata Records, 30CM 449. 1997.

Leleux, François, oboe. Les Nouveaux Interprètes. Harmonia Mundi France,

HMN 911556. 1995.

Lencsés, Lajos, oboe. Monodien. Cadenza, CD 800915. 1998.

Mack, John, oboe. John Mack: Oboe. Crystal Records, C325, 1985.

Meyer, Francois. Works for Oboe and Piano. Sonpact, 94011. 1995.

Schaarschmidt, Helmut, oboe. Koyunbaba: Classical Folk Oboe and Gitarra. Signum
Records, X 8200. 1998.

Schmalfuss, Gernot, oboe, with Mamiko Watanabe, piano, and members of the
Mannheim String Quartet. MD&G (Dabringhaus & Grimm) Gold, CD 3010925,
2000.

Schellenberger, Hansjörg. Benjamin Britten, Musik mit Oboe. Camerata, CAMM

130038. 1997.

Speller, Eric, oboe. Contrastes. Ambroisie, 9909. 2003.

Vogel, Allan. Oboe Obsession. Delos, DE 3235. 2000.

Watkins, Sara. Music by Benjamin Britten. Meridian, 84119. 1993.

Zupnik Marilyn, oboe. A Guide to Classic Oboe Etudes. DLM Records, 1998.

51
 APPENDIX B

ANNOTATED DISCOGRAPHY OF SELECTED RECORDINGS

Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2
Woods, Pamela Pecha, oboe and members of the Audubon String Quartet. Bax-Bliss-
Britten: Music for Oboe and Strings. By Benjamin Britten. Telarc, CD 80205,
1990.

Pamela Woods, the former Assistant Principal Oboe of the Cleveland Orchestra,
and members of the Audubon Quartet have recorded Benjamin Britten’s Phantasy
Quartet on the Telarc label. Throughout the recording Ms. Woods’ tone is very focused
and dark. Her intonation, as well as that of the strings, is also very good. Ms. Woods
exhibits excellent ensemble playing with the members of the Audubon Quartet on this
recording.
In the A section of the Phantasy Quartet the performers—particularly Ms.
Woods—generally exhibit very good adherence to Britten’s intentions. The rhythms are
played fairly metronomically, as would be expected in a section marked Andante alla
marcia. Interestingly, the tempo taken by the quartet seems slightly fast for an andante
march; however, Britten gave no numeric tempo indications in the Phantasy Quartet.
Articulation markings are well observed in this movement. Ms. Woods plays in a way
that maintains coherence in the musical phrases while demonstrating clear differentiation
between accented, staccato, and legato articulations. The group also faithfully observes
Britten’s dynamics in this section. In particular, Ms. Woods does an extremely fine job
of exiting into silence as well as entering from silence—a feat not inherently easy on the
oboe.
The members of the ensemble also adhere very well to the intentions of Britten in
the B section (measures 61-212). Articulation is again good, especially that of Ms.
Woods’ in the scalar figures at rehearsal number 9, where she demonstrates a light and
very consistent staccato. The performers closely observe the composer’s dynamics here,
in particular in the oboe’s entries and exits to and from ppp. However, there is a
noticeable problem with intonation in the cello in the measures immediately preceding
rehearsal number 17.

52
 In the difficult C section (measures 210-371) of the Phantasy Quartet, the
ensemble again does a fine job of observing Britten’s dynamics, articulation, and tempo
markings. Unfortunately, intonation—especially in the strings—is not as good as in
previous sections. Also, there are some points in the C section where the digital editing is
not exactly seamless.
Pamela Woods and the members of the Audubon Quartet do justice to the
recapitulation of the A section at measure 371. The section sounds very fluid and natural
and is in close adherence to Britten’s markings. The ensemble successfully completes the
arc form as they conclude the piece, fading into a delicate pianissimo silence just as they
entered from at the beginning.
This Telarc recording of Britten’s Phantasy Quartet is a fine example of 20th
Century performance practice. It is obvious that the performers paid very close attention
to the implementation of the composer’s wishes, while still sounding very fluid and
expressive.

Hunt, Gordon, oboe and the Tale Quartet. Oboe Music by Britten, Bax, and Bliss. BIS,
CD-763, 1997.

Gordon Hunt, the principal oboist of the London Philharmonia and the London
Chamber Orchestra, has recorded Britten’s Phantasy Quartet with the Tale Quartet on the
BIS record label. The Tale String Quartet is a well-known group of Swedish musicians
that performs throughout Scandinavia. Gordon Hunt’s tone is characteristically British—
much like Britten may have composed for originally. It is full of depth and Hunt is
capable of playing an extremely wide range of dynamic levels while retaining nearly
perfect intonation. As is common in England, Hunt’s vibrato is slightly slower and wider
than what most Americans are accustomed to using and/or hearing; however, Leon
Goosens, to whom the work is dedicated, also had a rather wide vibrato. The members of
the Tale Quartet play very convincingly on this recording. One is struck by the constant
sense of energy and melodic direction that is present in their very cohesive ensemble.
Also noticeable on this recording of the Phantasy Quartet is the omnipresent
reverberation that can be heard. In this case however, the reverberation sounds authentic
and the location of the recording—Länna Church in Norrtälje, Sweden, confirms this.

53
 In the A section (measures 1-60), or “first movement,” Gordon Hunt and the
members of the Tale Quartet observe Britten’s expressive markings very closely. All of
the composer’s indications for tempo, articulation, dynamic level, and bowing are
followed exactly. In measure 57, Mr. Hunt finishes the section in a more fast and
aggressive manner than one generally expects. However, this is justified as Britten
marked this spot in the quartet piu presto and ad libitum. Throughout the A section Hunt
plays with impeccable intonation. Additionally, he and the string players play with fine
ensemble in this section.
In the B section (measures 61-212) the ensemble plays with a type of technique
that seems both flawless and effortless. All of Britten’s expressive markings are followed
diligently by the musicians in this section of the Phantasy Quartet. As an example, the
decrescendos in the fifth and seventh measures after rehearsal number 6 are played only
at the very end of the whole notes and span into the following measures, exactly as
Britten wrote them. Also very worthy of mention is Gordon Hunt’s impulse and line in
this brisk section which, to the author, always sounds appropriate. Mr. Hunt’s tone
sounds as one throughout the entire range of the oboe in this section. There are no notes
that sound out of place or improperly voiced when compared with their neighbors on his
Howarth oboe.
In the C section (measures 210-371) Mr. Hunt again demonstrates fantastic
control and intonation. His voicing is very revealing as to his understanding of Britten’s
harmonies that underpin the section. At the beginning of the section, between rehearsal
numbers 18 and 19, the strings slightly overpower the oboe. In the string trio between
rehearsal numbers 20 and 27 the string players observe Britten’s musical directions very
closely, most obviously those for bowing. In this section the strings all play with a very
vocal, yet light, quality throughout the ensemble. Unexpectedly, in the measure before
rehearsal number 29, Mr. Hunt seems to break the ascending phrase that Britten marked
legato with his use of air. In the music spanning from rehearsal number 27 to the end of
the C section, the quartet handles the duple against triple rhythmic patterns with unusual
finesse. There seems to be a certainty and flexibility in this section that permits slight
liberties while leaving no doubt as to the location of the pulse. It is very calming and
assuring to the listener.

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 In the recapitulation of the A Section (measure 371—) the musicians continue to
follow Britten’s expressive markings precisely. However, in the forte passages after
rehearsal number 32, Mr. Hunt’s vibrato is not consistent from note to note. Tonally, the
oboe and the strings become progressively more transparent as the movement moves
toward its conclusion. By doing this, they bring the arc form of the piece to an elegant
conclusion.
Generally, the recording of Britten’s Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2, by Gordon Hunt
and the Tale Quartet is an excellent recorded example of this work. The musicians play
with ensemble and musicianship that will be attractive to most classical music listeners.
With regard to performance practice, they give much attention and respect to Britten’s
demands and wishes for the piece.

Two Insect Pieces

Benet, Michel, oboe and Sabine Vatin, piano. Hautbois and Piano: Metamorphoses.
Fossati of Paris, FOSS7030, 2002.

French oboe recitalist Michel Benet’s recording of “The Grasshopper,” from

Benjamin Britten’s Two Insect Pieces, is a good example of this movement. The
recording is on the Fossati label, the same Fossati of Paris that manufactures oboes.
Benet’s oboe playing in general has an international appeal; it is likely that it will please
oboists from both the American and European Schools. Benet’s tone is light, focused,
and clear on this recording.
Benet and his accompanist, Sabine Batin, carefully observe Britten’s directions
for tempo, dynamics, articulation, and timbre. One unusual aspect of Mr. Benet’s
interpretation of “The Grasshopper” is his use of staccato in the final nine measures of
the movement. To the ears of many woodwind players, Benet’s use of wind may sound
somewhat different from what they are accustomed to using and hearing. This is because
Mr. Benet plays the staccato with the wind, rather than on the wind. In other words, he
uses a single puff of air for each staccato note, rather than an entire phrase or gesture.
While this may sound unusual to some, Britten made no indications for or against this,
and Benet’s staccatos at this particular point are sufficiently short and detached.

55
 In “The Wasp” Benet again follows Britten’s instructions for dynamic,
articulation, tempo, and timbral usage fairly closely. However, there is one noticeable
exception to this in the case of “The Wasp.” The piano slightly overpowers Benet at the
A tempo giacoso, where both parts are marked pianissimo. It is likely that Britten
intended for his piano parts to be taken even more literally than his oboe parts. This is
because he was a pianist himself—and one known for being very meticulous about his
own performance.
In the opinion of the author, the Fossati recording of Britten’s Two Insect Pieces
performed by Michel Benet is a fine and accurate interpretation of the work.
Commercially produced recordings of this work are not widely available at the present
time. However, in most cases, Michel Benet’s recording of the Two Insect Pieces
follows Britten’s intentions very closely, filling a need for an authentic recording of
Britten’s Two Insect Pieces.

Leleux, François, oboe. Les Nouveaux Interprètes. Harmonia Mundi France,

HMN 911556. 1995.

One of Europe’s most respected oboists, François Leleux is the French first oboist
of the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. Leleux is internationally acclaimed for his technical
prowess and this recording conveys this well deserved reputation. It seems in many
instances on this particular recording that Leleux seems to be playing Britten’s Two
Insect Pieces more as a showcase for his own virtuosity and less as an artistic work in
and of itself.
Mr. Leleux observes Britten’s dynamic and tempo markings fairly closely in “the
Grasshopper.” However, he adds hairpin crescendos/decrescendos where Britten wrote
none on most of the dotted-quarter notes. His staccato notes are extremely short in the A
section and its recapitulation. Although the staccatos in the molto piu animato B section
are of the same type, they are curiously played much longer and fuller. Interestingly,
from the “Tranquillo” onwards, Leleux seemingly begins the staccato notes with his wind
and ends them with his tongue. Although this is most unusual for an oboist to do, Britten
made no indications for or against it.

56
 François Leleux’s rapid interpretation of the “Wasp” showcases his virtuosic
technique as well as that of his accompanist, Emmanuel Strosser. At the point in the
music marked Lamentoso, Leleux carefully observes the hairpins that are requested by
the composer. Leleux is able to produce a very wide range of dynamic contrast in “The
Wasp.” However, at the louder levels, the tone often becomes spread, as it does in the
final two measures of the piece.

Temporal Variations
Benet, Michel, oboe and Sabine Vatin, piano. Hautbois and Piano: Metamorphoses.
Fossati of Paris, FOSS7030, 2002.

Michel Benet has recorded the Temporal Variations for Fossati of Paris. In this
recording, Benet’s playing is again characterized by his light and focused tone. In
addition, he and his accompanist Sabine Vatin play the most technically challenging
variations with expert technique.
In the first of the Temporal Variations, “Theme,” Benet closely observes Britten’s
tempo, dynamic, and timbral markings. Strangely, he ignores every one of the
composer’s accent markings. In the “Theme” Britten wrote accents only on anacrusis
notes. In Mr. Benet’s interpretation, he chooses to play the main notes with accent in
every case. The accent patterns written by Britten are an important aspect of the
Temporal Variations that unify the piece as well as define its conclusion in “Resolution.”
In “Oration” Michel Benet closely adheres to all of Benjamin Britten’s expressive
markings, with the minor exception of the ritard in measure 28. Especially well observed
are the printed tenutos in this movement, where the oboist is able to produce a delicate
subtlety. Also worthy of note is the piano playing of Sabine Vatin in “Oration,” which
was very forthright, clean, and virtuosic.
In the “March” the interpretation of Benet and Vatin again stays close to most of
what Benjamin Britten wrote. In addition, they play with fine ensemble. Although
Britten wrote no numeric tempos in the Temporal Variations, the tempo taken by the duo
seems slightly fast for a movement marked Alla marcia.

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 The intricate “Exercises” is played briskly on this recording, very much as Britten
indicated with his marking of Allegro molto e con fuoco. Other than some momentary
issues with ensemble, the variation is performed brilliantly and is very much in line with
the intentions of the composer.
“Commination,” the central variation most similar to the “Theme” and
“Resolution,” demonstrates a curious departure from Benet’s interpretation of the
“Theme.” Unlike in his interpretation of the “Theme,” Benet’s rendition of
“Commination” correctly observes Britten’s accent markings. This time, Benet accents
the anacrusis notes, just as the composer specified. In addition, he pays close attention to
the printed tempo markings. This is particularly apparent in measure 141, where
accelerando is observed and then suspended on the fourth beat, just as Britten indicated.
Benet and Vatin play the brief “Chorale” accurately. All of Britten’s intentions
are taken into consideration by the duo. Benet’s vibrato may sound slightly intrusive in
this piano, dolce movement to some listeners.
Benet and Vatin closely observe Britten’s expressive markings in the “Waltz,”
using liberal amounts of rubato in this variation. It is the opinion of the author that while
the duo uses a high amount of rubato, they do so in a manner that is logical and in good
taste, always keeping the pulse clear and intact. Particularly well executed on the part of
the oboist is the difficult slur up to a staccato and piano harmonic E-Flat at the end of the
variation.
In the penultimate variation, the “Polka,” the duo chooses to play an accelerando
in the opening measures. They begin very slowly and accelerate up to the “Vivace” at
measure 235. While this may sound captivating to the listener, it is not what Britten
wrote. Dynamics are nicely observed in this particular variation, as are the printed
articulations.
In the final variation, “Resolution,” the duo observes Britten’s dynamics nicely.
There is an ambiguity as to whether or not Benet is accenting the C-Sharp or D in many
cases. However, on the final gesture, Benet does clearly accent the D and precede it with
an unaccented C-Sharp, bringing closure to the work as a whole as Britten indicated.
With the exception of the “Theme” variation, the recording of Michel Benet
reflects Britten’s intentions in the Temporal Variations. At the time of the preparation of

58
this treatise, difficulties exist in locating commercial recordings of Britten’s Temporal
Variations. The example described here generally represents a good recorded example of
the work, especially when taking into consideration the lack of recordings currently on
the market.

Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49

Ambrose-King, Nancy, oboe. Evocations. Boston Records, BR-1030CD, 1999.

Dr. Nancy Ambrose-King has recorded Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid
for Boston Records on her compact disc entitled Evocations. Dr. Ambrose-King’s tonal
characteristics are somewhat similar to those of English oboists on this recording, much
as Britten would have had in mind. She uses a flowing and relaxed type of vibrato.
Particularly noticeable in this recording of the Six Metamorphoses is the addition of a
liberal amount of artificial reverberation. Dr. Ambrose-King is well known for her
virtuosity and technique; the recording in question is no exception to this well deserved
reputation.
In “Pan” Dr. Ambrose-King plays with great fluidity, dynamic contrast, and
expression. However, there are several cases in which the expression is in contradiction
with what Britten has written. For example, in measure 9 Dr. Ambrose-King plays
clipped slurs, where Britten wrote no staccato markings and subsequently plays the
following series of staccato notes in a very legato fashion. In some cases, dynamics are
played that are the opposite of what Britten wrote, such as measures 3 and 6. In most
cases where there is a fermata, Dr. Ambrose-King plays a substantial ritard where Britten
wrote none. Most unlike the intentions of Britten is the attention to pulse and rhythm in
this interpretation of “Pan.” Although the composer wrote senza misura at the beginning
of “Pan,” Dr. Ambrose-King elects to play rhythms that do not match the note values
written by Britten. Britten wrote “Pan” in such a way that if one plays what is written,
the music sounds senza misura. The music needs no further help to make it sound
unmeasured.

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 In “Phaeton” Dr. Ambrose-King demonstrates nearly flawless finger and tongue
technique. In addition, she adheres closely to all of Britten’s intentions for tempo,
rhythm, dynamics, and articulation.
In “Niobe” Dr. Ambrose-King adheres well to Britten’s articulation and dynamic
markings, but there is again an issue with rhythmic accuracy. In the case of “Niobe”
Britten gave no indication that liberties should be taken with regard to pulse or rhythm,
but in this recording of “Niobe” the author feels that Dr. Ambrose-King attempts to add
rubato in so many places that the end result is a pulse that sounds erratic. However, in
the final four measures where Britten wrote senza rubato, the performer does suspend her
use of rubato.
Dr. Ambrose-King’s interpretation of “Bacchus” is very evocative of the feasts
that Britten described. She musters the legato as well as the pointed articulation that
Britten calls for in the initial section of the movement. In addition, she is able to produce
the course timbre suggested by Britten on the low C fermatas in the final eight measures
of the movement and subsequently contrasts this with a subtle piano decrescendo. Dr.
Ambrose-King displays unusually virtuosic technique in the “Piu vivo” and “Con moto”
sections of this movement, which she plays at an even more ambitious tempo than Britten
indicated.
In two instances Dr. Ambrose-King elects to change the rhythm that Britten wrote
in “Narcissus.” One measure before the “Tranquillo” she plays thirty-second notes rather
than the sixteenth notes that Britten wrote. The author feels that the performer also elects
to play the final measure of “Narcissus” out of rhythm, observing only “long” and “short”
note values. This is not how Britten wrote this measure to be performed. Other than
these instances, Dr. Ambrose-King plays “Narcissus” closely with the rhythmic,
dynamic, and coloration scheme proposed by the composer. With regard to the latter, she
makes a particularly sharp contrast between the real and reflected images of Narcissus
called for by Britten.
As with previous movements of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Dr. Ambrose-
King plays “Arethusa” with flawless and expert finger technique. Again, there are issues
with dramatic rubato where Britten indicated none. The “poco piu lento” section is very
rhythmically solid and keeps with the articulation and dynamic scheme set forth by the

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composer. Britten wrote the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for a British oboist and it is
worthy of note that Dr. Ambrose-King plays “Arethusa” with tonal characteristics that
are in many ways very British, especially in the higher registers.

Zupnik Marilyn, oboe. A Guide to Classic Oboe Etudes. DLM Records, 1998.

The Six Metamorphoses after Ovid are included as part of Marilyn Zupnik’s
recording, Classic Oboe Etudes. This DLM Records recording generally presents
interpretations that are very accurate with regard to the intentions of Benjamin Britten.
Ms. Zupnik’s sound is light and very refined and her intonation is impeccable on this
recording.
In “Pan” Ms. Zupnik plays very rhythmically with an occasional subtle rubato.
All liberties that she takes are within the framework of Britten’s rhythmic and tempo
indications. Her observance of the composer’s dynamic scheme is very accurate with the
exception of measure 10, where she does not decrescendo. (This may be attributable to
different editions of the piece by Boosey and Hawkes.) Interestingly, Ms. Zupnik holds
the final A Sharp fermata in measure 9 for an unusually long time. However, it is in time
with the ritard that she set up previously in the measure. Ms. Zupnik concludes the
movement with dramatic contrast between Britten’s successive forte and piano figures,
using a very ethereal tone quality for the latter.
Ms. Zupnik plays “Phaeton” in a manner that is nearly identical to the way in
which Britten indicated. She observes all of the composer’s dynamic, articulation, and
breath markings. Additionally, Ms. Zupnik adds no substantial ritards that are not
indicated by Britten at the fermata points. Interestingly, Ms. Zupnik plays “Phaeton” at a
tempo that is slightly slower than the printed dotted-quarter = 152.
“Niobe” is, again, played in a way that seems very close to what Britten intended
for the movement. One point in which Ms. Zupnik diverges from what is printed is in the
first measure. Rather than extending the decrescendo through the final A-Flat of the
measure, she plays the note slightly louder. In the case of Marilyn Zupnik, the author
suspects that this is intentional. Given the amount of diligence and care that is obvious in

61
Zupnik’s playing, it is unlikely that she overlooked what was printed, or altered the
composer’s intentions because of technical challenges. Ms. Zupnik plays the final D Flat
of the movement with what seems to be a harmonic fingering, which does justice to the
somber ending.
In “Bacchus” Zupnik plays Britten’s rhythms slightly more literally than do most
oboists. In fact, there is no indication by Britten that rhythmic liberties should be taken in
this movement. In contrast to Ambrose-King, Zupnik observes Britten’s tempo markings
in “Bacchus” almost exactly. The slurred sixteenth notes in the difficult “Con moto”
section are played very cleanly with a very continuous line. In the final eight measures of
“Bacchus” Ms. Zupnik observes the quarter rests written by Britten exactly, unlike many
oboists.
Throughout “Narcissus” Ms. Zupnik uses vibrato in a very well controlled and
subtle manner, similar to most other students of John de Lancie. Ms. Zupnik takes a few
liberties with tempo and pulse in this movement; but it is always done in a very subtle
manner. It is the opinion of the author that Ms. Zupnik’s liberties are very tasteful and
never destructive to Britten’s intentions.
In the final movement of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, “Arethusa,” Ms.
Zupnik again follows Britten’s expressive markings almost exactly. One interesting and
effective thing that Ms. Zupnik does in her recording of “Arethusa” can be heard in
measures 5 and 12. In these measures, one can hear the performer drop to piano dymanic
where one is not marked. The result of this however is that it serves to strengthen the
written crescendos in these measures. This is an example of a liberty taken on the part of
Ms. Zupnik that enhances what the composer wrote.
Marilyn Zupnik’s interpretation of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid on her
compact disc Classis Oboe Etudes is an excellent representation of Benjamin Britten’s
intentions for what his piece was to sound like. In this work, Britten leaves little up to the
performer; he is very detailed and specific with his expressive markings. In most cases,
Ms. Zupnik follows the composer’s intentions very closely. When the notation is
followed in an exact way, the piece sounds natural and as the composer intended.

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Mack, John, oboe. John Mack: Oboe. Crystal Records, C325, 1985.

Of all of the recordings of this work discussed in this chapter, the one by John
Mack, the retired Principal Oboe of the Cleveland Orchestra, is the oldest and likely the
most widely circulated. The piece was recorded on the Crystal Records label in 1985.
Possibly due to the fact that all of John Mack’s recordings are in real time and from a
single take, the listener often has the sensation that they are listening to a live
performance on this recording. On this recording, Mack demonstrates a clarity and
substance of tone as well as more multidimensional style of articulation and tone
coloration that changes depending upon the style of the music.
Mr. Mack’s interpretation of “Pan” begins with phrases that are played in a
slightly unmeasured fashion, as was written by Britten. Although some rhythmic pushing
and pulling is present in the initial measures of “Pan,” Mr. Mack never deviates from the
note values that Britten wrote. As one might expect from a Cleveland Orchestra
woodwind player, Mr. Mack’s staccato notes are slightly longer than those of many other
oboists. However, they are always played in a detached manner, as Britten requested,
and have a distinctive presence when played this way.
In “Phaeton,” Mack plays all articulations and dynamics, as well as rests and
breaths, indicated by Britten. Similar to Marilyn Zupnik’s recording of “Phaeton,” Mr.
Mack plays the movement slightly slower than indicated by Britten.
In “Niobe” Mr. Mack follows Britten’s expressive markings very closely. In
addition to playing with very smooth lines and contours in “Niobe,” Mack is able to make
many of the oboe’s dull notes sound brilliant and many of its bright notes sound opaque
in this movement. This brings a smoother and more somber quality to this sad
movement.
Mr. Mack follows Britten’s expressive markings and tempo markings closely in
“Bacchus.” He is able to make a dramatic contrast in tone color between the more
percussive sections and the legato sections. In addition, he plays the rests in the final
eight measures of the movement with diligence and accuracy.
For “Narcissus” Mr. Mack is able to produce an extremely dark sound,
particularly in the opening several measures and, more significantly, in the notes

63
representing the reflected image of “Narcissus.” Mr. Mack’s range of dynamics is very
broad in this movement. He is able to play a very strong and focused fortissimo where
called for, yet take some decrescendos down to silence when indicated by Britten.
Mr. Mack’s interpretation of “Arethusa” does justice to Britten’s writing. In
particular, he follows Britten’s dynamic scheme very precisely. Notable in the “poco piu
lento” is Mr. Mack’s use of the trill. He is able to trill in such a way that sounds seamless
as each descending trilled note passes. It is clear that Britten had the same intention for
the trills in this section since he extended trill markings over the entire length of each
note, in addition to marking them with a tr.
John Mack’s recording of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid is played very
closely to what Britten wrote, with regard to musical aspects that are structural as well as
more esoteric. In some cases the recording is not as technically exact as the recording by
Marilyn Zupnik, but there seems to be a human and multidimensional quality about it that
many other recordings lack.

Benet, Michel, oboe and Sabine Vatin, piano. Hautbois and Piano: Metamorphoses.
Fossati of Paris, FOSS7030, 2002.

French recitalist Michel Benet’s recording of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid
begins with a fairly authentic interpretation of “Pan.” In this movement he generally
pays close attention to the expressive markings of Britten, particularly those that have to
do with rhythm and pulse. Curiously however, he holds the half note trill in measure 14
for three beats rather than two. Mr. Benet usually holds the fermatas in “Pan” much
longer than other oboists. While this sounds somewhat unusual, Britten gave no
instructions relating to the duration of the fermatas.
Benet’s interpretation of “Phaeton” again follows very closely to what was
written by Britten, with one notable exception. In measures 35-37 Benet slows the tempo
down from where it had been in previous measures. Britten gave no indication for the
performer to do this. It is logical to assume that Benet slows these measures down
because of the inherent difficulties in tonguing fast in the low register of the oboe. Aside
from this, Mr. Benet’s recording of “Phaeton” is, in the opinion of the author, a very
effective and satisfying one.

64
 In “Niobe” Mr. Benet plays with fine musical line, excellent intonation, and a
fairly dark tone. Again, he adheres to Britten’s markings for musical expression.
Particularly well executed on the part of Benet are the final four measures of “Niobe”
where he plays very seamlessly and without vibrato, accomplishing Britten’s marking of
senza espression.
Benet begins “Bacchus” nearly half as fast as the quarter =112 tempo that Britten
indicated. In the first section, Mr. Benet also plays all of the staccato sixteenth notes
“with the wind,” or with one puff of air per note. Britten gave no directions against this
and Benet does manage to detach the staccato notes by blowing in this manner—although
this is a highly unusual manner in which to play these passages. The con moto section is
clean, smooth, and up to tempo. However, in the following measures that conclude the
movement Benet plays the low C fermatas sharp, relative to the rest of his scale.
“Narcissus” is played by Michel Benet much more slowly than eigth note = 84
that Britten indicated for the movement. Benet is able to make significant contrasts in
tone color and volume in the “reflective” section, just as the composer asked for. This
recording also demonstrates a performer that is able to play extremely well at the softest
dynamic levels, as evidenced in the “Tranquillo” section.
Mr. Benet’s interpretation of “Arethusa” is very divergent from the indications of
Benjamin Britten. The printed tempo for this movement is eigth note = 152, which is
more than twice as fast as it is played on the recording. In addition, Mr. Benet adds a
molto ritardando in measures 39 and 40, where no ritard is written. From the poco piu
lento onwards, Mr. Benet stays fairly close to the desires of Britten. The final few
measures are played with expert finger technique, but the final note of the piece, a middle
D, becomes sharper as it gets louder.
The recording of the Six Metamorphoses after Ovid by Benjamin Britten by
Michel Benet is an enigma to this author. While “Bacchus,” “Narcissus,” and “Arethusa”
deviate dramatically from the musical intentions of Benjamin Britten, “Pan,” “Phaeton,”
and “Niobe” are played conservatively and exhibit authenticity with regard to
performance practice. However, the constants throughout most of the work are Mr.
Benet’s rather refined and colorful tone as well as his clean technique.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Oboist and English hornist Sotos Djiovanis is currently a member of the Naples
Philharmonic Orchestra. He received the Doctor of Music degree from the Florida State
University in 2005. Prior to this, he received the Master of Music and Bachelor of Music
Degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2001 and 2000, respectively. Mr.
Djiovanis’ major teachers include Eric Ohlsson, John Mack, and Martha Scherer-Alfee.
In addition to his duties in Naples, Mr. Djiovanis has performed frequently with
numerous other orchestras including: The New World Symphony, Jacksonville
Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, Florida West Coast Symphony, Orlando
Philharmonic, American Sinfonietta, Pensacola Symphony, Youngstown Symphony,
Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Wheeling
(W.V.) Symphony, Canton Symphony, Mansfield Symphony, Brevard Music Center
Orchestra, and Central Florida Philharmonic. Very active performing internationally, Mr.
Djiovanis has toured Germany as English hornist with the American Sinfonietta under
Michael Palmer, performed in the Dominican Republic with the Santo Domingo Festival
Orchestra under Philipe Entremont, and served as Co-Principal Oboe of the Orquesta
Sinfonica de Aguascalientes in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Mr. Djiovanis has been
employed by several music festivals including: The Bellingham Music Festival, The
Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival, and the Santo Domingo Festival of Music. While a
student, Mr. Djiovanis attended the Kent/Blossom Music Festival, the Brevard Music
Center, and the John Mack Oboe Camp. Mr. Djiovanis has played under many notable
conductors including: Jorge Mester, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Christopher Seaman,
Leonard Slatkin, Michael Stern, Vladimir Verbitsky, Phillipe Entremont, Jahja Ling,
among many others. Mr. Djiovanis has been active as a teacher in Florida, Ohio, and
Mexico. As a teaching assistant for the School of Music at Florida State University he
taught private lessons, masterclasses, reed classes, and coached several chamber music
ensembles. In addition, he has been an oboe and theory instructor at the Florida State
University Summer Music Camps, where he also conducted the Double Reed Choir. Mr.
Djiovanis can be heard regularly performing in orchestras on National Public Radio
stations throughout the United States. His performances have also been broadcast on the

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state television station of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Mr. Djiovanis has been published in
the Double Reed, the quarterly publication of the International Double Reed Society, of
which he is a member. In addition to his major instructors, Mr. Djiovanis has worked
with many of today’s most notable musicians such as Joshua Smith, Felix Kraus,
Elizabeth Camus, Linda Strommen, Thomas Stacy, Martin Schuring, Jeffrey Keesecker,
John Clouser, Ronald Phillips, Daniel Gilbert, Richard King, Eli Epstein, Daniel
McKelway, Carolyn Bridger, Douglas Fisher, and Paula Robison.

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 CONCLUSION

Benjamin Britten is widely regarded as one of the most prominent composers of

the Twentieth Century. During his lifetime, Britten earned the admiration of his
contemporaries throughout the musical world. His music covers a wide range of musical
genres. Today, Britten’s music is popular in opera houses, orchestral concerts, and
recitals of all types. In addition, the world’s foremost virtuosi have extensively recorded
numerous compositions by Britten.
Benjamin Britten became one of the most, if not the most, prominent English
composers of his time. In addition to his efforts as a composer Britten worked to revive
English opera, worked to ensure the future and security of British music drama, and
strived to boost musical outreach to English schoolchildren in an effort to help national
musical awareness and future musical literacy among the population. Benjamin Britten is
also responsible for the creation of the Aldeburgh Festival, which exists to this day.
The pieces that Britten wrote for the oboe are significant parts of the oboe
repertoire. The Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, Opus 49, is currently the most commonly
performed piece for unaccompanied oboe. The Phantasy Quartet, Opus 2, is also a
standard in the repertoire for oboe and strings, enjoying frequent performance. The Two
Insect Pieces are commonly performed lighter pieces on oboe recitals and the Temporal
Variations have gained much popularity—now a standard of the twentieth century
repertoire for the oboe. All four works exhibit characteristics that are common in the
music of Britten such as accessibility and a relationship to larger-scale works composed
in their proximity. In addition to these traits, all of Britten’s oboe works are written in a
highly detailed manner with much specificity given to their expressive markings. It is
because of this detail and specificity that correct performance practice of Britten’s pieces
demands close attention to the many details given to the performer by Britten himself.

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