Things That Dwell In the Night

This is a fine collection of Britten's orchestral songs played by experienced specialists in his repertoire. The two cycles for tenor , in this case Philip Langridge, are perhaps his most famous in this genre. Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, also featuring Frank Lloyd on horn and the English Chamber Orchestra under Steuart Bedford, is a superb illustration of Britten's ability to set an anthology of texts bound together by a similar theme which in this case is night, sleep and dreams. It is also a novel setting in the way that the one solo instrument interacts with and bookends the singer's contributions. The other tenor piece, Nocturne, also features Langridge with the Northern Sinfonia. The theme of the texts set makes it a later companion piece to the Serenade and it also had similar solo instrumental duets with the singer but in this case different instruments for each setting including bassoon, harp, horn, timpani, cor anglais, flute and clarinet. The members of the Sinfonia undertake these tasks admirably. The final piece is a late work, Phaedra, back with the English Chamber Orchestra and this time soloist mezzo-soprano Ann Murray. Setting an ancient Greek theme, this is more operatic in tone and is a dramatic showpiece for Murray packing a wide range of emotions into its 15 minute span.