MUSIC
Britten's Michelangelo Songs.
BENJAMIN BRrrrEN continues to cheat expectation. With each new work one marvels afresh at his remarkable mfts and his cultivated ability ; and, disappointed in the sum of their product, one looks forward hopefully to the next. His latest composition settings of seven of Michelangelo's. Sonnets for tenor voice and pianoforte, which were sung by Mr. Peter Pears at the National Gallery last week, continue the tale. There is a great deal to admire—the ease with which the usually intractable sonnet-form is brought to terms with music, the efficiency with which the central mood of each poem is caught and reflected, and the general air of sure move- ment within the allotted space, the movement of a man who knows exactly where he is and where he wishes to go. In fine, the crafts- manship is assured and admirable. If that were all music amounted to, these would he masterpieces of song. And yet, measured by the highest standards—which have in fact been applied by others with results that seem to me extravagant, these songs are found to be the synthetic product of a skilful and eclectic talent. At the end I felt: there is nothing Brittea cannot do, except compose some- thing genuine and moving, though he comes near to it in the third song (Sonnet XXX). For it is not enough to take a tag of melody from Gianni Schicchi or a fine declamatory phrase from Turandot as a model, and write a clever accompaniment to it in the manner cf Hugo Wolf. The result is not a great song, but the imitation of one. One is reminded of the effective songs of Respighi. The composer was not well served by the singer, whose con- sistently " white " tone ruled out any variety of vocal colour. In Schumann's Dichterliebe cycle, in which he was admirably accom- panied by Mr. Britten, Mr. Pears had proved himself to be a musicianly and intelligent singer. He knew what he was singing about and how to give the right emphasis to a musical point—for instance, a modulation in the harmony. But these things are of no svail without beauty and variety of vocal tone and the ability to
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