Benjamin Britten

Saint Nicolas op. 42

Benjamin Britten's cantata "Saint Nicolas op. 42" is a colorful and dramatic work from 1948. It was composed for the centenary celebrations of Lancing College and impressively sets the life and legends of Saint Nicholas of Myra to music. The libretto by Eric Crozier depicts the saint's journey from his birth to his work as a bishop and his death, combining historical accounts with popular descriptions of miracles.

The scoring is complex: in addition to a tenor solo for the title role, the work calls for a mixed choir, a boys' choir, a string orchestra, piano four hands, organ and percussion. Particularly characteristic of Britten is the deliberate inclusion of the audience, who are allowed to sing along to well-known church hymns at two points in the work. With its mixture of operatic drama, tonal freshness and deep spiritual reverence, "Saint Nicolas" is one of Britten's most popular vocal works and is a firm fixture in the international concert repertoire.