Cooke's Tour 16: BRITTEN Serenade for Tenor solo, horn and strings, an introduction #CookesTour

Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor solo, horn and strings is the subject of Richard Cooke’s Blog No. 16. Written for his lover Peter Pears and the horn player Dennis Brain, Britten’s Serenade has a nocturnal theme, and the composer’s genius shines through his musical representation of six poems.

Richard was fortunate enough to conduct this work with Peter Pears in 1973. As he says in his blog: ‘I shudder now at how little I must have known and how embarrassingly inexperienced I was…’. Richard also shares stories of singing at Snape Maltings in 1972 under Benjamin Britten as part of the semi-chorus in Britten’s recording of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. ‘Suddenly I was aware of a truly ear-shattering noise which I first I couldn’t place. I looked around thinking something had happened, and then up at Pears who was stretched to his full height (he was tall), and in his characteristic lean slightly to the right and backwards was declaiming ‘Take me away’ with the most terrifying power on the top A. It was a moment not to forget.’

Richard Cooke is Music Director of the Royal Choral Society, University of Essex Choir and Canterbury Choral Society.

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