The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell

While Britten possessed a brilliant mind, he looked outward to others for inspiration, both those who had come before him, like Henry Purcell, and his peers, like his life-long partner, Peter Pears, and the poet, Wystan H. Auden. To become the great English composer he became, Britten needed to have...

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Main Author: Abigail Lilite
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Department of Music and Worship 2024-01-01
Series:Musical Offerings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/musicalofferings/vol15/iss2/3/
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author Abigail Lilite
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author_sort Abigail Lilite
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description While Britten possessed a brilliant mind, he looked outward to others for inspiration, both those who had come before him, like Henry Purcell, and his peers, like his life-long partner, Peter Pears, and the poet, Wystan H. Auden. To become the great English composer he became, Britten needed to have been impacted by these different relationships. Without Wystan H. Auden’s influence on and collaboration with Benjamin Britten, the composer would not have developed as deep an appreciation for poetry within music and an awareness of the challenges of text setting. Consequently, Britten emulated hallmarks of Purcell, revitalizing tradition and asserting himself into the canon of Western music.
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spelling doaj-art-e1c376d061e34ffc906c90d0d774fe4a2025-08-20T01:53:37ZengDepartment of Music and WorshipMusical Offerings2330-82062167-37992024-01-01152698510.15385/jmo.2024.15.2.3The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry PurcellAbigail Lilite0Cedarville UniversityWhile Britten possessed a brilliant mind, he looked outward to others for inspiration, both those who had come before him, like Henry Purcell, and his peers, like his life-long partner, Peter Pears, and the poet, Wystan H. Auden. To become the great English composer he became, Britten needed to have been impacted by these different relationships. Without Wystan H. Auden’s influence on and collaboration with Benjamin Britten, the composer would not have developed as deep an appreciation for poetry within music and an awareness of the challenges of text setting. Consequently, Britten emulated hallmarks of Purcell, revitalizing tradition and asserting himself into the canon of Western music.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/musicalofferings/vol15/iss2/3/audenbrittenpurcellpoetrytext settingtext depiction
spellingShingle Abigail Lilite
The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell
Musical Offerings
auden
britten
purcell
poetry
text setting
text depiction
title The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell
title_full The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell
title_fullStr The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell
title_full_unstemmed The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell
title_short The Gift He Gave Us: How W. H. Auden’s Influence Shaped Benjamin Britten into England’s Next Henry Purcell
title_sort gift he gave us how w h auden s influence shaped benjamin britten into england s next henry purcell
topic auden
britten
purcell
poetry
text setting
text depiction
url https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/musicalofferings/vol15/iss2/3/
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