Benjamin Britten's Poets

Benjamin Britten was a great reader of poetry and poetry profoundly affected his musical genius. Friendships and collaborations with writers - Auden and Forster among them - left their mark. No other composer of songs, not even Schubert or Schumann, set poems of such range or quality. The texts of all Britten's song settings are included in this book. They range from Donne's complex "Holy Sonnets" to the deceptive simplicity of Blake's "Oh rose thou art sick". They include anonymous ballads, modern work and poems in other languages (with translations). Full details of the source and use of each poem are given.