Unknown But Worthwhile

Not being a full blown opera fan, it is less easy to come to terms with the work of Benjamin Britten but this disk is an extremely useful addition. Titled Unknown Britten, it does contain one well known work in the song cycle for chamber orchestra Les Illuminations. The "unknown" element here comes with the addition of three rejected settings of Auden's poetry that have been orchestrated by Colin Matthews. You can't really see the join and the whole is given a satisfying performance by the Northern Sinfonia under Thomas Zehetmair with the excellent soprano soloist Sandrine Piau. The remainder of the disk is instrumental. There is a spiky juvenile work in a Rondo Concertante for piano and strings with Rolf Hind the pianist, which hints at an early flirtation with the Second Viennese School along with the influence of his teacher Frank Bridge and even has some unexpected jazz touches. The same strings of the Northern Sinfonia also perform an untitled fragment of the same vintage and betraying similar influences. There are two later works in mature Britten style with a piece In Memorium of Dennis Brain, an elegy for four horns and strings, and Variations for solo piano played once more by Rolf Hind which could easily be widely programmed with some success. The disk finishes with another completion by Colin Matthews of unfinished sketches for a Clarinet Concerto which was commissioned by Benny Goodman but fell victim to wartime disruption. Matthews makes a convincing case for it being seen now as a fine addition to the standard clarinet repertoire and it gets a committed performance here from Michael Collins with the Northern Sinfonia.