Benjamin Britten wrote in all genres, but vocal music formed the core of his output. His vocal writing was particularly innovative in his song cycles and large-scale operas. He also wrote choral music throughout his career, but here the focus was different. Where his solo vocal writing broke new ground, his choral works drew on, and extended, the English choral traditions in which he had been brought up. As a result, Britten’s choral works give a 20th-century perspective on Anglican choral traditions, but with influences from Catholic liturgy, and from the Modernist contemporary composers whose techniques Britten often explored.
Benjamin Britten
