Analysis Of Benjamin Britten's 'Wanderlust'

The name of this evening’s program, “Wanderlust,” refers directly to its definition: a strong desire for or impulse to travel and explore the world. The selected song cycles were written by composers of different backgrounds who were inspired by cultures outside of their own through travel or other means of exposure. In each piece, one can see these sources of inspiration manifest itself in various ways, whether it be through the composer’s choice of text, their style of composition, or other musical elements borrowed from other cultures. Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan composer who was naturalized as a French citizen, living in France for the majority of his life. He was a frequent visitor of Venice, Italy, and was inspired by his trips to the city to write the song cycle Venezia. This cycle is a group of six chansons set to texts

His music for the ballet The Prince of the Pagodas, written in 1957, clearly reflected the influence that Balinese gamelan music had on him as a composer, and within the same year he set Chinese poetry for the song cycle Songs from the Chinese. The cycle was written for tenor voice and guitar, likely because of his friendship with guitarist Julian Bream and his partnership with tenor Peter Pears. The texts came from translations of classic Chinese verses which were published by Arthur Waley in 1946, and deal with themes that are familiar in Britten’s music, including innocence, loss and regret. The music itself is not particularly indicative of Asian influence, however the use of the guitar as the accompanimental instrument in a rather sparse texture evokes the aesthetic of a Chinese stringed instrument, such as a lute. Britten displayed an excellent understanding of the guitar’s capabilities as an instrument as well as its special characteristics, such as his use of glissandi in “Depression,” a haunting song about aging and