Britten by David Matthews (2003)

From the cover flap:

Benjamin Britten (1913-76) was one of the outstanding British composers of the 20th century. He rose to international fame with the success of his operas, performed by his own English Opera Group, and a series of extraordinary instrumental works.

I first became of aware of Britten while working on a college paper about his opera, Peter Grimes. Up to that point, I had a casual interest in classical music and only a passing understanding of opera. But Britten’s work changed all that. His manipulation of instruments and voices to evoke human emotions was truly an eye opener. So when I saw this book for shelving, I had to pick it up.

Britten is quite a good read. Matthews chose to follow a standard biographical format – early years, adulthood, later years – so it can be hard to easily enter the story. I can imagine someone not familiar with Britten or his works being less than interested in the birth and family life of an English boy. There is also a lot of discussion of specific works, contemporaries, and technical terms, which could also be off-putting. But the author does an excellent job of cutting out the unnecessary parts of the story and focusing on those items that provide the most insight into Britten the artist.

Cover image: Brotherhood Books, http://www.brotherhoodbooks.org.au/

Matthews is not a simple biographer of Britten, however. He also provides commentary and interpretation on Britten’s day-to-day life and events and how they affect his music. In general, I think Matthews accurately helps the reader draw connections, though his approach can be a bit dramatic and psychoanalytic. For example, Matthews describes the importance of a young Britten being sung to before bed by stating:

It is almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of this archetypal maternal practice to Britten’s psyche and to his later artistic development. In adult life, Britten was never entirely able to trust the outside world. How many of us can, one might ask? Yet Britten’s uneasiness was extreme, and his music reveals it: his world is a place of danger and often terror, when innocence is readily corrupted. There can be temporary reassurance in beauty and in love, but sleep is the only sure place where security and trust may be regained. The image of sleep as a refuge is something that Britten returns to again and again in his music ….

The book itself, it should be noted, is quite handsome. An imprint from Haus Publishing of London, the cover is a black-and-white, shadowed image of Britten the conductor with only his last name printed below in blue. David Matthews’ name is noticeably absent – perhaps his nod to Britten’s talent. The book uses a different scheme for footnotes – instead of at the bottom of the page, the notes are floating captions within the text, offset by their red color. At the bottom of each page is a red heading as well, letting the other know what the general topic is on the page.  It also includes notes, a chronology, a discovered work by a young Britten, his works and recordings, an index, and sources for the pictures used.  Probably the most fully documented work I have seen.

The book is a great, quick read which hopefully will encourage others to enjoy more of Britten’s works. For more information on Britten, as well as his longtime collaborator and partner, Peter Pears, see the Britten-Pears Foundation.