773BTC802802BBM/two_lullabiesTwo lullabiesFor two pianos1Duet10 Mar 193692816 Mar 1936929

The first Lullaby was written from 10-11 March, the second from 15-16 March 1936.

6.0

Composed for Britten's BBC audition as a piano duo with Adolph Hallis on 19 March 1936, at which only the second piece was played.

00193610 - 16 Mar 193653305773

1 Lullaby

1300773/1306773

2 Lullaby for a retired colonel

2300773/29281930193631000000007067409291930193631600000007067465377301000Concert performance22 Jun 1988910Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Aldeburgh Festival.

Peter Frankl, Tamas Vasary pfs.

091019301935920000000706547788BTC801801BBM/russian_funeralRussian funeralFor brass and percussion ensemble''War and death, an impression for brass orchestra''. 1Brass band music24 Feb 19369262 Mar 19369274 hn (''ad lib''), 3 tpt in B flat, 2 ten trbn, bass trbn, tuba - perc (susp cymb, sd, td, bd)6.000193624 Feb - 2 Mar 1936101789BTC803803BBM/irish_reelAround the village greenFilm scoreIrish reel1

9-28 Sep 1937

Post 9 Nov 1937

Incidental music1 Apr 19369322 Apr 19369339-28 Sep 1937; post 9 Nov 1937

Work on the film score began in April and much of the music was completed between 1st and 6th of the month, but composition was suspended when the project was postponed. The film was revived at the end of the summer and Britten wrote some additional music between 9 and 28 September 1936.

The score (also entitled 'Village harvest') uses the tune 'The bottom of the punch bowl', which is in fact Scottish (the same tune was used in an unfinished piano duet from ca. 1941-42: Untitled piece). It was composed as the title music for a documentary film of the same name (by Marion Grierson and Evelyn Spice) made for the Travel and Industrial Development Association and released in 1937.

Britten also used melodies later arranged as folk songs for voice and piano: see Early one morning, (April 1957) and The plough boy (1945).

The soundtrack of the film was recorded on 21 October by an ensemble of 16 'slap-up' players conducted by Britten, and a commercial recording of the Irish reel conducted by Charles Brill was made by Decca on 9 November 1937. At some later date Britten revised the scoring.

0019361 - 2 Apr 1936