Saint Nicolas, Op. 42, is a cantata with music by Benjamin Britten on a text by Eric Crozier, completed in 1948. It covers the legendary life of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, Lycia, in a dramatic sequence of events. The composer wrote the work for the centenary of Lancing College in Sussex, with the resources of the institution in mind. It is scored for mixed choir, tenor soloist, four boy singers, strings, piano duet, organ and percussion. The only professionals required are the tenor soloist, a quintet of string players to lead the other strings, and the first percussionist. Saint Nicolas is Britten's first work for amateur musicians, and it includes congregational hymns. The premiere was the opening concert of the first Aldeburgh Festival in June 1948, with Peter Pears as the soloist.

History

Benjamin Britten wrote the cantata Saint Nicolas, Op. 42, from December 1947 to May 1948 Britten's dedication reads: "This Cantata was written for performance at the centenary celebrations of Lancing College, Sussex, on 24 July 1948".

Overview

I. Introduction

Saint Nicolas opens with an introduction in which the mixed choir, representing a contemporary people, calls to Nicolas to speak to them across the ages. They sing, "Our eyes are blinded by the holiness you bear", and they wish to hear the true story of Nicolas, the man. After being implored to "Strip off [his] glory", Nicolas responds in a flourish, speaking to the choir, "Across the tremendous bridge of sixteen hundred years…” The first movement ends with a choral prayer.

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Sources

  • Bridcut, John. Britten's Children. London: Faber and Faber, 2006.
  • Carpenter, Humphrey. Benjamin Britten: A Biography. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1992.
  • Evans, Peter Angus. The Music of Benjamin Britten. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1979.
  • Hansler, George. "Stylistic characteristics and trends in the choral music of five twentieth-century British composers", Dissertation (Ph.D.) – New York University, 1957.
  • Hart, Ralph Eugene. "Compositional Techniques in Choral Works of Stravinsky, Hindemith, Honegger, and Britten", Dissertation (Ph.D.) – Northwestern University, 1952.
  • Holst, Imogen. "Britten’s Saint Nicolas", Tempo, no.10 (1948), 23–5.
  • Mitchell, Donald, and Hans Keller, editors. Benjamin Britten: A Commentary on His Works from a Group of Specialists. New York: Philosophical Library, 1953.
  • Program notes by Chapel Hill Community Chorus containing the full text.