We are very fortunate to have these timeless and very well recorded performances that document one of the most fruitful artistic collaborations in the history of music. Never before nor since have such conditions existed that so perfectly nurtured the particular and peculiar needs of a musical partnership. The founding of the Aldeburgh Festival was one of the more vital components of Britten’s and Pears’ work together, not least because it offered a relatively intimate setting in which to perform the music they loved, often in collaboration with other world-class musicians. For this recording, we hear two memorable Pears/Britten Aldeburgh recital performances, one from 1958, the other from 1959. Pears was in top form, and Britten’s brilliant piano accompaniments seem only to inspire him to greater heights as the performances progress. Highlights are too numerous to mention them all, but they include the five Purcell songs, Schubert’s “Nachtviolen”, Schumann’s “Mondnacht” and “Wehmut”, “La lune blanche luit dans les bois” from Fauré’s La Bonne Chanson, and the four fabulous Britten folksong arrangements. Don’t miss this golden moment of musical history. Although most of us weren’t fortunate enough to have been there, this recording brings us unforgettably close. [10/6/1999]
