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First Hand Records

Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18 (In French and English);

Modern Melancholic Romantic Dramatic Nostalgic
$21.99

Details

Composer
Samuel Barber, Benjamin Britten
Artist
Julia Kogan, Britten Sinfonia
Format
CD
Label
First Hand Records
Released
Jan 23, 2026
Catalog #
FHR150
UPC
5060216343150

About

Featuring the first recording of BRITTEN's Les Illuminations, Op. 18 sung in English, from a brand new translation by Timothy Ades. Also includes the original French version. Coupled with Samuel BARBER's dramatic masterpiece Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24, written just a few years after Les Illuminations. Among the most personal and powerful music ever written for the human voice, Britten and Barber's masterpiece settings of texts by Rimbaud and Agee continue to resonate intensely. Taken together, they form bookends to the cataclysms of the 20th century, with it's two life-shattering world wars. The colours, verbal and harmonic, of such human drama are a dazzling mix, running the gamut of life in dramatic flux. Mild mannered it is not, though parts are hauntingly beautiful.

Tracklist 21 tracks

  1. 1 No. 1. Fanfare 02:06
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. Fanfare
    Duration
    02:06
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  2. 2 No. 2. Villes 02:26
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Villes
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  3. 3 No. 3a. Phrase 01:02
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3a. Phrase
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  4. 4 No. 3b. Antique 02:09
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 3b. Antique
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  5. 5 No. 4. Royauté 01:39
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 4. Royauté
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  6. 6 No. 5. Marine 01:05
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 5. Marine
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  7. 7 No. 6. Interlude 02:43
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 6. Interlude
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  8. 8 No. 7. Being Beauteous 03:43
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 7. Being Beauteous
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  9. 9 No. 8. Parade 02:44
    Track
    9
    Title
    No. 8. Parade
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  10. 10 No. 9. Départ 02:15
    Track
    10
    Title
    No. 9. Départ
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  11. 11 Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 (1947 version for voice and orchestra) 15:37
    Track
    11
    Title
    Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 (1947 version for voice and orchestra)
    Duration
    15:37
    Composer
    Samuel Barber
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  12. 12 No. 1. Fanfare 02:00
    Track
    12
    Title
    No. 1. Fanfare
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  13. 13 No. 2. Towns 02:26
    Track
    13
    Title
    No. 2. Towns
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  14. 14 No. 3a. Phrase 01:04
    Track
    14
    Title
    No. 3a. Phrase
    Duration
    01:04
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  15. 15 No. 3b. Antique 02:08
    Track
    15
    Title
    No. 3b. Antique
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  16. 16 No. 4. Royalty 01:40
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 4. Royalty
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  17. 17 No. 5. Seascape 01:07
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 5. Seascape
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  18. 18 No. 6. Interlude 02:44
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 6. Interlude
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  19. 19 No. 7. Beautiful Being 03:48
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 7. Beautiful Being
    Duration
    03:48
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  20. 20 No. 8. Parade 02:50
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 8. Parade
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez
  21. 21 No. 9. Departing 02:29
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 9. Departing
    Duration
    02:29
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Julia Kogan
    Ensemble
    Britten Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Steven Lloyd-Gonzalez