List of compositions by Benjamin Britten

This list of compositions by Benjamin Britten includes all the published works by English composer Benjamin Britten with opus number.

By genre

Operas

*"Paul Bunyan" (1941), based on the American folktale
*"Peter Grimes" (1945), based on George Crabbe's "The Borough"
*"The Rape of Lucretia" (1946), after the play Le Viol de Lucrèce by "André Obey"
*"Albert Herring" (1947), after Guy de Maupassant's story "Le Rosier de Mme. Husson"
*"The Beggar's Opera" (1948)
*"Let's Make an Opera (The Little Sweep)" (1949), an opera for children
*"Billy Budd" (1951), after Herman Melville's novella
*"Gloriana" (1953), after Lytton Strachey's Elizabeth and Essex, written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
*"The Turn of the Screw" (1954), based on the novella by Henry James
*"Noye's Fludde" (1958), for community performance, based on a mystery play
*"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1960), after Shakespeare
*"Owen Wingrave" (1971) an opera for television, after the short story by Henry James
*"Death in Venice" (1973), based on Thomas Mann's novella
*An unrealized Christmas opera, intended forces unknown (1976)

Church parables

*"Curlew River" (1964), based on a Japanese Noh play
*"The Burning Fiery Furnace" (1966), after the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3
*"The Prodigal Son" (1968), after the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15

Ballets

*"Plymouth Town" (Ballet for small orchestra) (1931)
*"The Prince of the Pagodas" (1956)

Orchestral

*Sinfonietta, for chamber orchestra (1932)
*"Simple Symphony", for string orchestra (1934)
*"Soirées Musicales", after Rossini (1936)
*"Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge", for string orchestra (1937)
*"Mont Juic", after Catalan Dances (1937)
*"Canadian Carnival" (1939)
*"Sinfonia da Requiem "(1940)
*"Matinées musicales", after Rossini (1941)
*"An American Overture" (1941)
*"Prelude and Fugue for 18 Strings" (1943)
*"Four Sea Interludes" and "Passacaglia" from "Peter Grimes", for orchestra (1945)
*"The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" (1946)
*"Occasional Overture" (1946)
*"Men of Goodwill" (1947)
*Symphonic Suite from "Gloriana" (1954)
*"Suite on English Folk Tunes, A Time There Was...", for chamber orchestra (1966/1974)

Concertante

*Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra (1932, incpt, realised by Colin Matthews)
*Piano Concerto (1938, rev. 1945)
*Violin Concerto (1939, rev. 1958)
*"Young Apollo", for piano, string quartet and string orchestra (1939)
*"Diversions for piano (left hand) and orchestra" (1940 rev. 1954)
*"Scottish Ballad", for two pianos and orchestra (1941)
*Clarinet Concerto (incomplete: 1st movement only, 1942/3, orch. by Colin Matthews)
*Cello Symphony (1963)

Vocal/Choral Orchestral

*"Quatre Chansons Françaises", for soprano and orchestra (1928)
*"Our Hunting Fathers", for soprano or tenor and orchestra (words W. H. Auden) (1936)
*"The Company of Heaven", for speakers, soloists, chorus and orchestra (1937, not performed again until 1989)
*"Les Illuminations", for soprano or tenor and strings (words Arthur Rimbaud) (1939)
*Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943)
*"Saint Nicolas", for tenor soloist, children's chorus, chorus, and orchestra (1948)
*"Spring Symphony", for soprano, contralto, and tenor soloists, mixed chorus, boys' choir and orchestra (1949)
*"Nocturne", for tenor, 7 obbligato instruments & strings (1958)
*"War Requiem" (1961) for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, chamber ensemble, boys' chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra
*"Cantata misericordium" for tenor and baritone soloists, small chorus, string quartet, string orchestra, piano, harp, timpani (1963)
*"Phaedra" for mezzo-soprano, cello, harpsichord, percussion, and string orchestra ("Robert Lowell" after "Jean Racine"'s Phèdre, 1975)
*"Praise we great men", for soloists, chorus and orchestra (Edith Sitwell) (1976, completed by Colin Matthews 1985)
*"Sea Symphony", for soloists, chorus and orchestra (unrealized, 1976)

Vocal

*"On this Island" for high voice and piano (1937)
*"Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo" for tenor and piano (1940)
*"The Holy Sonnets of John Donne" for tenor and piano (1945)
*"Canticle I: My beloved is mine" for tenor and piano (1947)
*"A Charm of Lullabies" for mezzo-soprano and piano (1947)
*"Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac" for alto (or countertenor), tenor, and piano (1952)
*"Winter Words" for high voice and piano (1953)
*"" for tenor, horn and piano (words Edith Sitwell) (1954)
*"Winter Words" for tenor and piano, poetry by Thomas Hardy (1954)
*"The Heart of the Matter" for narrator, tenor, horn, and piano (1956)
*"Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente" for tenor and piano (1958)
*"Songs and Proverbs of William Blake" for baritone and piano (1965)
*"The Poet's Echo" for soprano and piano (1965)
*"Canticle IV: Journey of the Magi" for countertenor, tenor, baritone, and piano (1971)
*"Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus" for tenor and harp (1974)
*"A Birthday Hansel" for high voice and harp (1975)
*Eight books of "Folksong Arrangements" from the British Isles and France, for voice and piano, guitar and harp
*Many realizations of songs by Henry Purcell

Choral

*"Hymn to the Virgin" for chorus and soli (1930?)
*"A Boy Was Born" for treble voices and choir (1933/55)
*"Jubilate Deo" for chorus and organ (1934)
*"Te Deum in C" for chorus, trumpet, and organ (1934)
*"Friday Afternoons" for children's voices and piano (1935)
*A.M.D.G. (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam), seven settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins for unaccompanied SATB (1939)
*"A Ceremony of Carols" for treble voices and harp (1942); an alternative arrangement for mixed voices and harp (or piano) is popular as well
*"Hymn to St. Cecilia" for unaccompanied choir; poem by W. H. Auden (1942)
*"Rejoice in the Lamb" for 4 soloists, choir, and organ; text by Christopher Smart (1943)
*"Festival Te Deum" for chorus and organ (1944)
*"Five Flower Songs" for SATB (1950)
*"Missa Brevis" for boys' voices and organ (1959)
*"A Hymn of St Columba" for chorus and organ (1962)
*"Sacred and Profane (8 medieval lyrics)" for SSATB (1974-5)

Chamber/Instrumental

*"Fanfare for St Edmundsbury" (1959) short antiphonal and polytonal piece for three trumpets
*Cello Sonata in C Major (1960)
*"Night-Piece (Notturno)" for piano, written for Leeds International Pianoforte Competition (1963)
*"Nocturnal after John Dowland" for guitar (1963)
*Cello Suite No. 1 (1964)
*Cello Suite No. 2 (1967)
*Cello Suite No. 3 (1971)
*"Six Metamorphoses after Ovid" for solo Oboe, with quotations from Ovid's "Metamorphoses" poem.
* four String Quartets:
**D major (1931)
**No. 1 in D major (op. 25)
**No. 2 in C major (op. 36)
**No. 3 (op. 94)
*"Lachrymae" for viola and piano (1950)
**later arranged for viola and string orchestra (1976)

Film music

*"Night Mail" (1936), with words by W. H. Auden

By opus number

* Op. 1, Sinfonietta, 1932
* Op. 2, "Phantasy", oboe quartet, 1932
* Op. 3, "A Boy was Born" for mixed chorus with organ "ad lib", 1933, revised 1955
* Op. 4, "Simple Symphony" for strings, 1934 (+ also version for string quartet)
* Op. 5, "Holiday Diary" for piano, 1934
* Op. 6, Suite for violin and piano, 1935
* Op. 7, "Friday Afternoons" for children's voices and piano, 1935
* Op. 8, "Our Hunting Fathers" for soprano or tenor and orchestra (words W. H. Auden), 1936
* Op. 9, "Soirées musicales" for orchestra (after Gioacchino Rossini), 1936
* Op. 10, "Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge" for string orchestra, 1937
* Op. 11, "On this Island" for soprano or tenor and piano (words W. H. Auden), 1937
* Op. 12, "Mont Juic" (after Catalan dances, with Lennox Berkeley), 1937
* Op. 13, Piano Concerto, 1938, revised 1945
* Op. 14, "Ballad of Heroes" for tenor or soprano, chorus and orchestra (words W. H. Auden and Randall Swingler), 1939
* Op. 15, Violin Concerto, 1939, revised 1958
* Op. 16, "Young Apollo" for piano and strings, 1939 (withdrawn)
* Op. 17, Paul Bunyan, opera (libretto W. H. Auden), 1941, revised 1976
* Op. 18, "Les Illuminations", for soprano or tenor and strings (words Arthur Rimbaud), 1939
* Op. 19, "Canadian Carnival" overture, 1939
* Op. 20, "Sinfonia da Requiem", 1940
* Op. 21, "Diversions" for piano (left hand) and orchestra, 1940, revised 1954
* Op. 22, "Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo" for tenor and piano, 1940
* Op. 23
** No. 1, "Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca" for two pianos, 1940
** No. 2, "Mazurka elegaica" for two pianos, 1941
* Op. 24, "Matinées musicales" for orchestra (after Rossini), 1941
* Op. 25, String Quartet No. 1, 1941
* Op. 26, "Scottish Ballad" for two pianos and orchestra, 1941
* Op. 27, "An American Overture", 1941 [first performance 1983] )
* Op. 27, "Hymn to St. Cecilia" for SSATB, 1942
* Op. 28, "A Ceremony of Carols" for trebles and harp, 1942
* Op. 29, "Prelude and Fugue" for 18 strings, 1943
* Op. 30, "Rejoice in the Lamb" for soloists, chorus and organ, 1943
* Op. 31, "Serenade" for tenor, horn and strings, song cycle, 1943
* Op. 32, "Festival Te Deum" for chorus and organ, 1945
* Op. 33, Peter Grimes, opera (libretto Montagu Slater after George Crabbe), 1945
** Op. 33a, Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
** Op. 33b, Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
* Op. 34, "Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell" ("The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra"), 1946
* Op. 35, "The Holy Sonnets of John Donne" for soprano or tenor and piano, 1945
* Op. 36, String Quartet No. 2, 1945
* Op. 37, The Rape of Lucretia, opera (libretto Ronald Duncan after André Obey), 1946 revised 1947
* Op. 38, "Occasional Overture", 1946
* Op. 39, Albert Herring, opera (libretto Eric Crozier after Guy de Maupassant), 1947
* Op. 40, "My beloved is mine" (Canticle I) for soprano or tenor and piano (words Francis Quarles), 1947
* Op. 41, "A Charm of Lullabies" for mezzo soprano and piano, 1947
* Op. 42, "Saint Nicolas" for soloists, chorus, strings, piano (4 hands), percussion and organ, 1948
* Op. 43, The Beggar's Opera after John Gay, 1948
* Op. 44, "Spring Symphony" for soloists, mixed choir, children's choir and orchestra, 1949
* Op. 45, The Little Sweep, opera (libretto Eric Crozier), 1949
* Op. 46, A Wedding anthem "Amo Ergo Sum" for soprano, tenor chorus and organ (words Ronald Duncan), 1949
* Op. 47, "Five Flower Songs" for SATB, 1950
* Op. 48, "Lachrymae" for viola and piano, 1950
** Op. 48a, "Lachrymae" for viola and strings, 1976
* Op. 49, "Six Metamorphoses after Ovid" for oboe, 1951
* Op. 50, Billy Budd, opera (libretto E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier after Hermann Melville), 1951, revised 1960
* Op. 51, "Abraham and Isaac" (Canticle II) for alto, tenor and piano (Chester miracle play), 1952
* Op. 52, "Winter Words" for soprano or tenor and piano (words Thomas Hardy), 1953
* Op. 53, Gloriana, opera (libretto William Plomer after Lytton Strachey), 1953
** Op. 53a, Symphonic Suite "Gloriana" for tenor or oboe and orchestra, 1954
* Op. 54, The Turn of the Screw, opera (libretto Myfanwy Piper after Henry James), 1954
* Op. 55, "Still Falls the Rain" (Canticle III) for tenor, horn and piano (words Edith Sitwell), 1954
* Op. 56,
* Op. 56a, "Hymn to St. Peter" for treble, SATB and organ, 1955
* Op. 56b, "Antiphon" for SATB and organ, 1955
* Op. 57, "The Prince of the Pagodas", ballet, 1956
** Op. 57a, "Pas de six" from "The Prince of the Pagodas"
* Op. 58, "Songs from the Chinese" for soprano or tenor and guitar, 1957
* Op. 59, Noye's Fludde, opera (Chester mystery play), 1957
* Op. 60, "Nocturne" for tenor, 7 obbligato instruments and string orchestra, song cycle, 1958
* Op. 61, "Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente", 1958
* Op. 62, "Cantata academica", 1959
* Op. 63, "Missa brevis" for boys' voices and organ, 1959
* Op. 64, A Midsummer Night's Dream, opera (libretto Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears after William Shakespeare), 1960
* Op. 65, Sonata for cello and piano, 1961
* Op. 66, "War Requiem", 1961
* Op. 67, "Psalm CL" for children's chorus and instruments, 1962
* Op. 68, "Cello Symphony", 1963
* Op. 69, "Cantata misericordium", 1963
* Op. 70, "Nocturnal after John Dowland" for guitar, 1963
* Op. 71, Curlew River, church parable (libretto William Plomer after Noh), 1964
* Op. 72, Cello Suite No. 1, 1964
* Op. 73, "Gemini Variations" for flute, violin and piano four hands, 1965
* Op. 74, "Songs and Proverbs of William Blake" for baritone and piano, 1965
* Op. 75, "Voices for Today" for boys' voices, chorus and organ "ad lib", 1965
* Op. 76, "The Poet's Echo" for soprano or tenor and piano (words Aleksandr Pushkin), 1965
* Op. 77, The Burning Fiery Furnace, church parable (libretto William Plomer after The Book of Daniel), 1966
* Op. 78, "The Golden Vanity" for boys' voices and piano (words Colin Graham), 1966
* Op. 79, "The Building of the House" for chorus or organ or brass and orchestra, 1967
* Op. 80, Cello Suite No. 2, 1967
* Op. 81, The Prodigal Son, church parable (libretto William Plomer), 1968
* Op. 82, "Children's Crusade" (words Bertold Brecht/Hans Keller), 1968
* Op. 83, Suite for harp, 1969
* Op. 84, "Who are these Children?" for tenor and piano (words William Soutar), 1969
* Op. 85, Owen Wingrave, opera (libretto Myfanwy Piper based on Henry James), 1970
* Op. 86, "The Journey of the Magi" (Canticle IV) for countertenor, tenor, baritone and piano (words T. S. Eliot), 1971
* Op. 87, Cello Suite No. 3, 1972
* Op. 88, Death in Venice, opera (libretto Myfanwy Piper based on Thomas Mann), 1973
* Op. 89, "The Death of Narcissus" (Canticle V) for tenor and harp (words T. S. Eliot), 1974
* Op. 90, "A Suite on English Folk Tunes "A Time There Was" for chamber orchestra, 1974
* Op. 91, "Sacred and Profane" for five voices, 1975
* Op. 92, "A Birthday Hansel" for high voice and harp (words Robert Burns), 1975
* Op. 93, "Phaedra", cantata (words Robert Lowell after Jean Racine), 1975
* Op. 94, String Quartet No. 3, 1975
* Op. 95, "Welcome Ode" for young people's voices and orchestra, 1976

References

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