Poet: Edith Sitwell (1887-1964)
Source: single piece
Date of Composition: 1954 (27 Nov.)
Publication: Boosey & Company © 1955
Voice Difficulty Level: Difficult
Subject: An allegory of the British people during the Second World War.
Range: C4 – G5
Tessitura: Bb4 – F5
Tempo: Slow and distant; 5/4
Duration: 11:41
Vocal Characteristics: Multi-sectioned, but each begins with sobbing tears motive; secondo passaggio oriented vocal lines; highly chromatic; nearly all recitative style with little rhythmic impulse; demands independence; Sprechstimme
Piano Difficulty Level: Difficult
Accompaniment Characteristics: Varying styles; open chords, declamatory, jumpy, staccato eighth note chords; tremolo; twelve tone;
Additional Comments: Obligatto horn; Britten Thematic Catalog http://www.brittenproject.org/works/BTC1049