Poet: William Soutar (1898-1943)
Source: Who Are These Children?
Date of Composition: 1969 (Spring-Summer)
Publication: Faber Music, 1972
Voice Difficulty Level: Difficult
Subject: The lives of those who have been killed carry into the present.
Range: C4 – Ab5
Tessitura: Ab4 – E5
Tempo: Broadly; 2/2
Duration: 02:34
Vocal Characteristics: High-lying phrases; complex, syncopated rhythms; entrance on Ab5; last phrase is an ascending E whole tone scale;
Piano Difficulty Level: Difficult
Accompaniment Characteristics: Fast octave eighth-note duples, off-set by one eighth note between hands; jumpy range
Additional Comments: Britten Thematic Catalog http://www.brittenproject.org/works/BTC1144