Faithful readers of the CCM will recall that when Purcell made the list, I commented that "He is, arguably, the greatest English composer of all time; certainly no one really gave him a good run for his money until at least the 19th century." In the 20th century, Britten virtually rises to the challenge. It is certainly hard to think of a more influential and widely-regarded British composer of art music.

Britten made a good number of recordings, several with his companion, the competent but hardly awe-inspiring Peter Pears. Britten's contribution is quite interesting, however, and he is one of those composers who was adept not only at performance, but of performances of their own works (compare with, for example, the earlier CCM and commentary about Rachmaninoff; also, a good deal of Stravinsky's recordings). That he was uniquely gifted in settings of English texts is evident not only in his famous operas, but in works like this month's excerpt.