The 10-disc compilation If Music Be the Food of Love is packaged as a tribute to the relationship of composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears, which lasted more than 40 years, until the composer's death. Artistically as well as personally, theirs was a symbiotic relationship. Pears was the inspiration for virtually all of the leading tenor roles in Britten's mature operas and most of his solo vocal works, and the music Britten wrote for him established Pears in an international career he might not have had otherwise ...
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The 10-disc compilation If Music Be the Food of Love is packaged as a tribute to the relationship of composer Benjamin Britten and tenor Peter Pears, which lasted more than 40 years, until the composer's death. Artistically as well as personally, theirs was a symbiotic relationship. Pears was the inspiration for virtually all of the leading tenor roles in Britten's mature operas and most of his solo vocal works, and the music Britten wrote for him established Pears in an international career he might not have had otherwise because of the distinctive and somewhat unconventional timbre of his voice. The music Britten wrote for Pears and Pears' performances of it are among the musical highlights of the mid 20th century. The generous compilation includes a representative and varied sampling of their collaborations (plus several purely instrumental works) from early in their careers, the latest work being The Turn of the Screw from 1954, and the latest recording from 1956. The sound quality is vintage, so...
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