You know it’s a monumental work of art when it has 4 parts and 12 movements, and it calls for an orchestra PLUS soprano, alto, tenor, mixed chorus, and a boys’ chorus.
The way UK composer Benjamin Britten put it, his 1949 “Spring Symphony” illustrates “the progress of Winter to Spring and the reawakening of the earth and life which that means.”
The changing of the seasons (weather or life) is a not a simple thing, so Britten wrote a rather unusual work to describe it. Like anything worth experiencing, patience pays off.
Listen to this masterful 1963 performance led by Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic, Jennifer Vyvyan, Regina Sarfaty, Richard Lewis, and the Boys’ Choirs from The Little Church Around the Corner and St. Paul’s Church of Westfield, NJ. We guarantee you’ll feel something.
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