Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus

Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus
Vocal composition by Benjamin Britten
Britten in 1968
Opus	89
Related	Canticles
Text	poem by T. S. Eliot
Language	English
Dedication	memory of William Plomer
Performed	15 January 1975 (1975-01-15)
Published	1976 (1976)
Scoring	tenor harp

Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus, Op. 89, is a composition for tenor and harp by Benjamin Britten, the last part of his series of five Canticles. Britten set a poem by T. S. Eliot, beginning "Come under the shadow of this gray rock", published in Early Youth. He wrote it in memory of his friend William Plomer. The work was premiered by Peter Pears and Osian Ellis at Schloss Elmau in Upper Bavaria on 15 January 1975. It was published the following year. The canticle was often recorded, including by the first performers.

Background and history

Britten composed his five Canticles over an extended period of almost 30 years, between 1947 and 1975. They have in common to be written for voices, all including a tenor with Peter Pears in mind, and all setting religious but not biblical texts. The first such work was possibly titled Canticle because it set a paraphrase of verses from the Song of Songs, sometimes referred to as the Canticles. In the works, Britten followed the model of Purcell's Divine Hymns, and wrote works that can be seen as miniature cantatas, and as song cycles.

After completing the fourth Canticle in 1971, The Journey of the Magi to a text by T. S. Eliot, Britten turned to another text by the same poet in 1974, an early poem beginning "Come under the shadow of this gray rock", published in Early Youth by Faber & Faber in 1967. The composer recovered from heart surgery; his reading included works by Eliot "for the clarity and security of his language", as he phrased it. He dedicated the setting to the memory of his friend William Plomer who had been the librettist of the three church parables and Gloriana, and who had died the previous year. Britten was not able to play the piano after the surgery and therefore wrote the music for tenor and harp, to be performed by Pears and Osian Ellis. Death was on Britten's mind during his last years, for example in Death in Venice, to be his last opera. All his canticles followed opera compositions. Canticle V was premiered by Britten's friends on 15 January 1975 at Schloss Elmau in Upper Bavaria. It was published in 1976 by Faber Music.

Text and music

Canticle V sets the text of an early poem by T. S. Eliot that had been published late. While Saint Narcissus may refer to two saints of the Catholic Church, Narcissus of Jerusalem and a Roman soldier, the character in the poem has rather traits of Narcissus in the Greek mythology, a "dancer before God" who is obsessed with beauty, especially his own, and who seeks death, and of Saint Sebastian. The character has also similarities to Aschenbach, the hero in Britten's opera Death in Venice.

The composition, as others from Britten's last period, is "spare and economical", with elegantly expressive vocal lines. While the voice carries the text's meaning, the harp adds "abrupt and vivid dramatic gestures" following the emotional expression, adding "colour and atmosphere". The work's form can be described as "exposition, development, episode and intensified recapitulation", with a climax towards the end. The work's duration is given as 7 minutes.

Recordings

Pears and Ellis, the performers of the premiere, recorded the canticle among other music by Britten for tenor and harp in 1976/77. A reviewer noted that Britten may have taken in account that the aging voice of Pears was effective "in the context of complex homo-erotic repression", and found the musicians "providing both authenticity and deep insight into a consistently great composer". All five canticles were recorded by Naxos Records in 1996, including Canticle V with tenor Philip Langridge and Ellis as the harpist. A reviewer noted that the presence of Ellis, who had worked closely with Britten and had played the premiere, singled the recording out. The canticle was recorded in 2012 by tenor Nicholas Phan and harpist Sivan Magen in a collection of vocal music by Britten. A reviewer found the aridity of Britten's music extreme, but acknowledged the "innovative and dramatic harp writing" and perfect expression of the text.

External links

• Listening to Britten – Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus, Op.89 goodmorningbritten.wordpress.com 6 February 2014