Britten Thematic Catalogue

Beta Version

BTC1109 ARR: THE TWELVE APOSTLES

For tenor, unison chorus and piano
Composition date: between Mar-May 1962
Genre: Choral
Text: Traditional

Adapted from The ten commandments in English folk songs from the southern Appalachians, collected by Cecil Sharp, vol II, pp. 283-6.

Duration: 6'

Notes

The melody is from Journal of the folksong society, 21 (November 1928), p. 24.

This arrangement and that of King Herod and the cock were made to replace a large-scale version of 'The bitter withy' for tenor, boys' choir and piano, but the latter was beyond the ability of the London Boy Singers for whom it was intended. 'The bitter withy' had been planned as Canticle IV, but remained unfinished.

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