Following the monumental 3000-set Limited Edition Complete Works, we are delighted to present four boxed sets which together present Britten’s Complete Works.

In each of the genres represented here, Britten created works which defined and shaped their genres going forward: opera was never the same after Peter Grimes in 1945; War Requiem re-defined the Oratorio genre; Britten’s extraordinary gifts for choosing and setting texts, as well as his life-long artistic relationship with Peter Pears, reshaped the Song Cycle for the late 20th century; while his pioneering works like Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and works for children to perform showed the world how composers could connect to and educate a wide audience. The sheer range of his creative work, and output, is astonishing.

Each set comes with a detailed article by Andrew Huth, full track listings and recording information.

The Complete Works of each genre - conducted by Britten where Britten recorded the work – contains all works with opus numbers and all works commercially recorded to date, including folksongs, but excluding Purcell realisations and Hindmarsh’s arrangements of incidental music to King Arthur and World of the Spirit.

Contents:
CDs 1-2 Paul Bunyan
Pop Wagner, James Lawless, Dan Dressen, Elisabeth Comeaux-Nelson, James Westbrock, James Bohn, Vern Sutton, Merle Fristad, Maria Jette, Sue Herber, Janice Hardy, Clifton Ware
Soloists, Chorus & Orchestra of the Plymouth Music Series / Philip Brunelle

CDs 3-4 Peter Grimes
Peter Pears, Jean Watson, James Pease, David Kelly, Lauris Elms, Raymond Nilsson, Marion Studholme, Iris Kells, John Lanigan, Marion Studholme, Geraint Evans
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Benjamin Britten

CDs 5-6 The Rape of Lucretia
Peter Pears, Heather Harper, John Shirley-Quirk, Janet Baker, Bryan Drake, Benjamin Luxon, Elizabeth Bainbridge
English Chamber Orchestra / Benjamin Britten

CDs 7-8 Albert Herring
Sylvia Fisher, Johanna Peters, John Noble, Owen Brannigan, Peter Pears, Edgar Evans, April Cantelo, Joseph Ward, Catherine Wilson, Sheila Rex
English Chamber Orchestra / Benjamin Britten

CDs 9-10 Billy Budd
Peter Glossop, Peter Pears, Michael Langdon, John Shirley-Quirk, Benjamin Luxon, Robert Tear
Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra / Benjamin Britten

CDs 11-12 Gloriana
Josephine Barstow, Philip Langridge, Alan Opie, John Shirley-Quirk, Yvonne Kenny, Della Jones, Jonathan Summers, Christopher Cornall, Bryn Terfel, Richard van Allen
Orchestra & Chorus of Welsh National Opera / Charles Mackerras

CDs 13-14 The Turn of the Screw
Peter Pears, Jennifer Vyvyan, Joan Cross, Arda Mandikian, David Hemmings, Olive Dyer
English Opera Group / Benjamin Britten

CDs 15-16 A Midsummer Night's Dream
Alfred Deller, Elizabeth Harwood, Peter Pears, Thomas Hemsley, Josephine Veasey, John Shirley-Quirk, Helen Watts, Heather Harper, Owen Brannigan, David Kelly, Robert Tear, Norman Lumsden, Gordon Clark, Stephen Terry
Choir of Downside School, Purley, Emanuel School Wandsworth, Boys' Choir
London Symphony Orchestra / Benjamin Britten

CDs 17-18 Owen Wingrave
Benjamin Luxon, John Shirley-Quirk, Nigel Douglas, Sylvia Fisher, Heather Harper, Jennifer Vyvyan, Janet Baker, Peter Pears
Wandsworth School Boys Choir, English Chamber Orchestra / Benjamin Britten

CDs 19-20 Death in Venice
Peter Pears, John Shirley-Quirk, James Bowman, Kenneth Bowen
English Chamber Orchestra / Steuart Bedford