A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INFLUENCE
OF CHRISTIANITY ON BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Benjamin Britten grew up in a mixed household in terms of religion - his father was an adamant agnostic, but his mother went to the local Anglican church every Sunday, often taking young Ben. As a young adult, however, Britten became disillusioned with the church for a variety of reasons. In spite of this, he remained spiritual throughout his life, and his beliefs and the Church of England’s influence permeated his musical tendencies.
Britten’s spirituality was deeply rooted in his childhood, his belief that music had a place in God’s plan, and his admiration for Jesus Christ’s teachings. As his friend Bishop Leslie Brown said at Britten’s funeral in 1976, “He believed deeply in a Reality which works in us and through us and is the source of goodness and beauty, joy and love. He was sometimes troubled because he was not sure if he could give the name of God to that Reality.”
In 1956, while Britten was touring in Japan, he attended a play called Sumidagawa at the Suidōbashi Noh Theatre. He was deeply moved by the performance and saw it several times before he left. He remarked, “I shall never forget the impact made on me by Japanese theatre…above all the Noh plays….The deep solemnity and selflessness of the acting, the perfect shaping of the drama…coupled with the strength and universality of the stories are something which every artist can learn from.”
The composer was determined to turn the play into an opera. He eventually decided that “Christianizing” the plot in the tradition of a medieval mystery play would best suit himself as a composer and his audience. Mystery plays had recently been revived at the York Festival of Arts after a banishment of almost 400 years, and they enjoyed a huge following. Britten’s own Noye’s Fludde, premiered to great success in 1958, was modeled after the mystery play tradition. But Britten was intent on writing an opera inspired by his experience in Japan, and in 1964, that opera was Curlew River, the first of the Parables for Church Performance.
The story of The Burning Fiery Furnace, the second of the Church Parable operas which premiered in 1966, comes from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament of the Bible, dating from the 3rd-century B.C. The three Israelites Ananias, Asarias, and Misael sing the Benedicite — a canticle or an extended prayer of blessing — while trapped in the furnace. Also called “The Song of Three Young Men,” the Benedicite was added to the Book of Daniel as part of the Apocrypha in the 2nd century B.C. and is used in the prayer books of the Anglican and Lutheran churches.
O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; praise him and magnify him for ever.
O ye angels of the Lord, bless ye the Lord; praise him and magnify him for ever.
The canticle appears in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer under the name of “The Song of Creation,” and it traditionally follows the first scripture lesson in the Order of Morning Prayer. Britten used the Benedicite as the “liturgical parable within the parable” at the climax of the opera. A very familiar text to British audiences, hearing it in such an atmosphere must have deeply resonated with them.
Each of the three Parables for Church Performance begins and ends with a plainsong chant. In addition to matching the solemnity and ritual of Noh theatre, the chant and processional mimic an Anglican service. This connects the operas with their audience by creating a familiar atmosphere and providing the musical inspiration for the rest of the piece.
Chant also influenced the way Britten set text to music. When chant is sung well, the listener cannot tell if the cantor is singing or speaking because the text and music are so beautifully intertwined. Chant–and therefore Britten’s vocal writing–is linear, horizontal, with the inflection of the words perfectly matched to the musical pitch and stress. Britten mastered the synthesis of word and music so well that the effect is mesmerizing. He used this masterful synthesis in all his vocal writing, not just in the Church Parable operas.
Benjamin Britten’s heritage and exposure to the Anglican Church heavily influenced his composition style. The Burning Fiery Furnace and its plainsong introduction and conclusion, the way the melodies develop seamlessly from that plainsong, and the insertion of a familiar Anglican canticle into the climax of the story connected not only Britten with his own spiritual traditions, but also the audience with theirs.
After World War II, traditional church attendance in England was declining, but the British people still overwhelmingly identified as Christian. A resurgence of religious music, art, and theater served to remind the country of the possibility of renewal after destruction. Benjamin Britten drew on his spirituality to join this national renewal, and we are the better for it.
