Flanders & Swann's "Guide to Britten"
Matthew B. Tepper
"And Then We Wrote," the final Flanders & Swann album, which is not contained
in the EMI boxed set falsely titled "The Complete Flanders & Swann."
While this may be of general interest here to admirers of that delightful
duo, I mention it here because one number is their "Guide to Britten," a
humorous recounting of the musical career of Benjamin Britten. I got many of
the references, but a couple have always eluded me. The first is this song's
opening cry of "Whooo-ooo-ooo?" which is then repeated. The second is the
plea which follows, "Please don't send him up again, please don't send him up
again." I imagine these are from the church parables, or perhaps one or
another of the operas that I haven't yet heard. Can anybody assist?
--
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> Somebody over at alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.comedy has posted the entirety of
> "And Then We Wrote," the final Flanders & Swann album, which is not contained
> in the EMI boxed set falsely titled "The Complete Flanders & Swann."
>
> While this may be of general interest here to admirers of that delightful
> duo, I mention it here because one number is their "Guide to Britten," a
> humorous recounting of the musical career of Benjamin Britten. I got many of
> the references, but a couple have always eluded me. The first is this song's
> opening cry of "Whooo-ooo-ooo?" which is then repeated. The second is the
> plea which follows, "Please don't send him up again, please don't send him up
> again." I imagine these are from the church parables, or perhaps one or
> another of the operas that I haven't yet heard. Can anybody assist?
>
> --
> Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My guess is that please don't send him up again is from The Little
Sweep (a quite brilliant performance from the late Jennifer Vyvyan) in
which, rather uncomfortably for me, Mr Pears reassures her that Sam is
"aching for it" with a degree of enthusiasm which, personally, I find
somewhat disquieting although I am sure it was only "acting".
Or not, as the case may be.
Pears was a Top, britten the sub.
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
Chris Goddard
> duo, I mention it here because one number is their "Guide to Britten,"
A side note to this -
Donald Swann wrote the extensive score for Henry Reed's 1954 BBC Third
Programme "feature" entitled "Emily Butter - an occasion recalled".
This tells the story of the first performance at Covent Garden of the
"lady-musicwriter" Hilda Tablet's opera, featuring her partner (though that
word wasn't used) the Viennese soprano Elsa Strauss.
Hilda is a melange of Dame Ethel Smyth and some other female British
composers of the post-war period, especially Elisabeth Lutyens who even
considered a court case. Elsa is a thinly-disguised dig at Schwarzkopf. But
both Hilda and Elsa are also extensions of Britten (Hilda) and Pears (Elsa).
"Emily Butter" is said to have originally been called "Milly Mudd", but the
similarity of that to "Billy Budd" forced the change of name. It didn't
prevent "Emily" having an all-female cast.
The first act opens (as all good Britten operas should) on a set with a
backcloth designed by John Piper. In fact it is a splendid sunset. Most
appropriate for morning in a department store when it is located.
The production was, appropriately enough given Britten's "realisations" of
Purcell, "suddenly realised" by the producer Douglas Cleverdon.
Five years later, Swann had an even better opportunity to send up current
musical trends in Henry Reed's "Musique discrete - a request programme of
music by Dame Hilda Tablet".
Chris
--
Chris Goddard
Plymouth, U.K.
webrarian.co.uk
William Sommerwerck
Don't you mean the Bottom?
Steve de Mena
>> Pears was a Top, britten the sub.
>
> Don't you mean the Bottom?
>
Maybe sub = subordinate ?
Steve
David Waters
"Matthew B. Tepper" <oy兀earthlink.net> wrote The first is this song's
I haven't heard the clip but it is surely a parody of the Pleiades Aria from
Peter Grimes which goes 'Who, who can turn the skies back and start all over
again ....'
If possible could you give the link as I would very much like to hear this.
Regards
David