# Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Op.3



## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Hi folks I have just discovered this piece and am loving it. I am listening to Mark Padmore's recording. I tried Pears but not so keen, I struggle with old fashioned sounding voices for some odd reason. 

Any other love for this piece? If so, which recording?


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Apart from Pears (whose voice I love), my favourite recording is by Christoph Prégardien with Ib Lanzky-Otto and the Tapiola Sinfonietta conducted by Osmo Vänskä. The fact that Prégardien isn't a native English speaker/singer does come through on occasion, but he sings beautifully, both in the _Serenade_ and the _Nocturne_. Ib Lanzky-Otto's nuanced contributions in the _Serenade_ represent probably the best horn-playing that I've heard in this piece, and that's saying something. Vänskä and the orchestra are excellent, and their performance of Britten's brief _Sinfonietta_ is a nice bonus.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Reichstag aus LICHT said:


> Apart from Pears (whose voice I love), my favourite recording is by Christoph Prégardien with Ib Lanzky-Otto and the Tapiola Sinfonietta conducted by Osmo Vänskä. The fact that Prégardien isn't a native English speaker/singer does come through on occasion, but he sings beautifully, both in the _Serenade_ and the _Nocturne_. Ib Lanzky-Otto's nuanced contributions in the _Serenade_ represent probably the best horn-playing that I've heard in this piece, and that's saying something. Vänskä and the orchestra are excellent, and their performance of Britten's brief _Sinfonietta_ is a nice bonus.


Thanks I will definitely try that one then - this piece has been a lightbulb moment for me regarding how gorgeous an instrument the horn can be.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I have a few favourites, Pears being one of them! Try the ones with Robert Tear, Philip Langridge Anthony Rolfe-Johnston or Ian Bostridge.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Ian Bostridge and Peter Pears , in that order, look no further.:angel:


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

There are actually three commercial recordings with Pears, and the earlier the better, although the sonics are obviously much better on the stereo version. The two earlier mono recordings are both with Dennis Brain.

This is one of my favorite pieces of music; favorites include Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Chandos), the aforementioned Christoph Pregardien, Ian Partridge on an OOP EMI CD, and John Mark Ainsley (also on EMI, and easier to find).


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

One of the few Britten works I really like. I'd go for Bostridge.


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## ArtOfTheFugueState (Feb 27, 2018)

A suggestion: listen to the Pears recording you have until you get comfortable hearing his voice. At times it's somewhat awful and hard to take, but remember - _the piece was written for Pears' voice._


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I've only got the one recording - it features John Mark Ainsley. Britten had a special gift for composing for the voice and the _Serenade_ is one of his finest examples. The disc I have also includes _Nocturne_ and _Les Illuminations_ - two other excellent works.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The second Pears recording was made when his voice was beginning to wear a bit. The artistry is still there but the voice is a bit frayed.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

DavidA said:


> The second Pears recording was made when his voice was beginning to wear a bit. The artistry is still there but the voice is a bit frayed.


Which Pears recording is this? The 1953 with Goossens, or the stereo one with Britten conducting?


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

I don't mind the occasional slightly frayed quality of Peter Pears' voice on his recording with Barry Tuckwell. He can sound eerie in the Dirge, for example (Britten at his best, IMO), which works effectively with the content of the music. The recorded sound quality is also better, which means that the listener hears more orchestral detail (a plus, for me). If I want to hear a smoother account vocally, I'll listen to Anthony-Rolfe Johnson (who I also like in the 7 Michelangelo Sonnets). And, of course, I like Pears smoother version with Dennis Brain too.

Another favorite recording of the Serenade is the version from Robert Tear, made with Dale Clevenger & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Giulini. Tear offers some of the best qualities of Pears, interpretatively, in how he uses the English words effectively, yet his voice never sounds strained:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

> Another favorite recording of the Serenade is the version from Robert Tear, made with Dale Clevenger & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Giulini. Tear offers some of the best qualities of Pears, interpretatively, in how he uses the English words effectively, yet his voice never sounds strained:


Thank you for the reminder, going to spin it later.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

It's a glorious piece, and I've loved it since I first heard it when in my early 20s. 

My preference is still for both the Pears recordings (after all, it was written for him, and with his voice in mind), but I also rather like Neil Mackie's version, conducted by Stewart Bedford, and the Rolfe Johnson conducted by Bryden Thomson. 

I find Bostridge a little mannered and effete.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> It's a glorious piece, and I've loved it since I first heard it when in my early 20s.
> 
> My preference is still for both the Pears recordings (after all, it was written for him, and with his voice in mind), but I also rather like Neil Mackie's version, conducted by Stewart Bedford, and the Rolfe Johnson conducted by Bryden Thomson.
> 
> I find Bostridge a little mannered and effete.


I love the work too, since about the same time in my life.

I like Pears too, which is odd since I've never liked his voice or wanted to hear him in anything but Britten's music. His understanding of the work is unquestionable, and he just sounds authoritative, perhaps partly because I got to know the piece through his recording with Tuckwell.

I like Bostridge, manneredness, effeteness and all. Britten has always struck me as a mannered, effete composer - not the man, but the music itself, if that makes any sort of sense. Bostridge, different from Pears, sounds in his own way right at home (and gentler on the ear).


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I love the work too, since about the same time in my life.
> 
> I like Pears too, which is odd since I've never liked his voice or wanted to hear him in anything but Britten's music. His understanding of the work is unquestionable, and he just sounds authoritative, perhaps partly because I got to know the piece through his recording with Tuckwell.
> 
> I like Bostridge, manneredness, effeteness and all. Britten has always struck me as a mannered, effete composer - not the man, but the music itself, if that makes any sort of sense. Bostridge, different from Pears, sounds in his own way right at home (and gentler on the ear).


I once heard Bostridge sing the Britten *Serenade* live in concert. His physical mannerisms were possibly more distracting than his vocal ones, which may well have contributed to my impressions of his singing.


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