Laurence Kilsby tenor ; Toby Spence tenor ; James Newby baritone ; James Baillieu piano

Britten’s exceptional gifts as a songwriter shine in this programme, which spans the time from his early twenties to his mid-fifties. His witty settings of William Soutar’s Scots dialect lyrics, rhymes and riddles, Who are these Children?, first heard in 1971, contrast with the dark-hued reflections on human nature and eternity carried by the Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, written for and dedicated to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. One of the Soutar songs had to wait until 1983 to receive its world première at Wigmore Hall.