The Britten Pears Archive

Judith from the Archive team has been cataloguing the papers of the English Opera Group: in this article for the @archiveshub she tells us about the new resources this makes available for researchers. blog.archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/category/featu…

We celebrate the life and work of Benjamin Luxon, the first Owen Wingrave on TV & LP recording, who died a week ago. A magnificent interpreter of Britten’s music.

A new resource available just in time for the Aldeburgh Festival: all of the past programme books, back to the first Festival in 1948, are now digitised and can be viewed and downloaded at brittenpearsarts.org/news/aldeburgh…. #AldeburghFestival

Born #OTD 100 years ago, Sir Neville Marriner, who made several fine recordings of Britten, is seen here during the 1988 Aldeburgh Festival rehearsing Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 3 with the Britten-Pears Orchestra. Photo: Nigel Luckhurst

'And I shall love you every moment' Peter Pears to Benjamin Britten, 1943.

We're delighted to see two of our works on show in "John Craxton: A Modern Odyssey" at @PallantGallery: "Shepherd and Rocks" and "Two Dancers". Do get there to see them if you can! pallant.org.uk/whats-on/john-… Images © Pallant House Gallery/Barney Hindle

We are thrilled to have been awarded Accredited status by @UKNatArcSector - particularly special today on Britten's 110th birthday

Kathleen Ferrier died on this day 70 years ago. Britten first heard her sing in Handel’s Messiah with Pears at Westminster Abbey in May 1943. He wrote ‘I was impressed immediately by the nobility and beauty of her presence, and by the warmth and deep range of her voice’.

Britten, Reflections on Composition is now available to watch on YouTube and our website: bit.ly/3Q0mXDs Here is a trailer for the film.

On this day in 1952 Kathleen Ferrier and Gerald Moore gave a recital in @HolySepulchreUK, the National Musicians ' Church, to raise funds for The Musicians' Chapel. Here is the programme from our archive:

In our latest Archive Treasures article you can find out about Blythburgh Church’s lengthy connection with the Aldeburgh Festival, & how it inspired Benjamin Britten, composer, conductor – & artist! Read here: brittenpearsarts.org/news/archive-t…

We are pleased to receive for our archive this poster for a song recital by Nettleship – the dedicatee of Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. She directed The Aldeburgh Festival Choir at the first festivals - the white footbridge at @SnapeMaltings was given in memory of her.

BBC TV made their film on location in Orford church and the ruined Norman chancel there. Perfect settings for a silhouette treatment of the instrumental procession and a torchlit procession during the opening and closing hymn. Great photos of the filming by John Richardson:

We have received for the archive a lovely bundle of programmes, letters and ephemera from a former stage manager with the English Opera Group. Including this fantastic brochure for the BBC TV entry for the 1969 Italia Prize (which didn’t win).

Very best wishes to Dame Janet Baker on her 90th birthday today. With fond memories of her visiting the Red House 10 years ago to open our new Archive building. Here she is viewing Britten’s music manuscript for Phaedra in our reading room.

For International Cat Day today here are photos from our archive of Joan Cross and a young Imogen Holst with their feline friends.

OTD in 1938 Britten wrote to his publisher Ralph Hawkes after the first rehearsal of his piano concerto 'The piano part wasn't as impossible to play as I feared & with a little practice this week ought to be OK' Here is the programme for the premiere with Britten as soloist.

To celebrate Yorkshire Day today here are items from two of Britten and Pears' many trips to the county: a receipt for their stay at The Beverley Arms Hotel in 1960 and a programme for their 1946 recital in Bradford.

@KcjK1 Thanks Kevin. The programme books will be downloadable as pdfs and therefore searchable by keyword which is going to be very useful. We so look forward to making these books available online!

@BrittenOfficial I'm hoping these will be downloadable as PDFs rather than using some sort of viewing app that is designed to look like you're flicking through a book but makes it difficult if not impossible to extract data from them.

Start of a great project here – we’re gathering together copies of all 74 Aldeburgh Festival programme books ready to go off site to be digitised. You’ll be able to view digital copies from our website soon - find out about performances since 1948 and read many great features!

@rheidolj Thank you Joanne. Yes this would be useful thank you. We have some handouts recording programme/cast changes, but may not have them all. It would be good to record these details.