B. Britten: Suite for harp - Andrea Voets - Concertgebouw Brugge

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Suite for harp (1969)
I. Overture 0:15
II. Toccata 3:13
III. Nocturne 4:50
IV. Fugue 7:16
V. Hymn -St. Denio- 8:43

Harp: Andrea Voets
Text: Andrea Voets
Recording: Concertgebouw Brugge, Young Talent Series SCOOP, 6-7-15

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was one of the most important British composers of the twentieth century. According to many, he was the fourth 'B' after Bach, Beethoven en Brahms.
He felt strongly attached to his home region Adeburgh and used to say that all his music originated there. “I believe in roots, in associations, in backgrounds, in personal relationships,” he stated in a speech. “I want my music to be of use to people, to please them. I do not write for posterity.”
Britten lived in a turbulent century, in which music and art were threatened by ideologies, war and totalitarian regimes. He never gave into those. “Any ideological organization of music”, he said, “distorts a composer’s natural voice, his “gift and personality.” Everything about Britten’s style— his tonal orientation and his preference for classical forms—went against the fashion of the postwar era, which meant he could count on heavy criticism from his colleagues. Apart from that, his homosexuality made him an outsider in society. Also, he often acted in a childlike way, to escape the reality of adult life. But eventually, at the end of his life, Britten had become a respected, celebrated composer, a national pride for Great-Brittan. When he passed away, Queen Elizabeth even sent a telegram, offering her condolences to his life-partner: tenor Peter Pears.
The Welsh harpist Osian Ellis was a good friend of Britten. When Britten could no longer accompany Pears on the piano, because of a heart operation, Osian took over this role. With his suite for solo harp (1969), Britten presented harpists with one of the most important pieces in their repertoire. In the Overture, Toccata and Fugue, he adapts these baroque concepts to his own taste, like he does with the ancient Welsh Hymn of St. Denio -in honour of Osian-, for which he wrote five variations on the same theme. The somewhat ominous Nocturne creates a contemplative center-point in the whole suite.

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