Welcome to Feature Fridays! In this series, AU Music Library staff highlight items from our collection. This week, Music Library Student Assistant Tiana Taylor discusses Simple Symphony, by composer Benjamin Britten.

Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten is a contrasting and exciting symphony written for string orchestra between the years of 1933 and 1934. Britten was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Many of his pieces are written for children and amateur musicians, making them more accessible to community orchestras and things alike. Simple Symphony is dedicated to Britten’s childhood viola teacher and is based off of eight themes that Britten wrote during his childhood; he finished writing the Simple Symphony at twenty years of age.

The symphony has four movements, starting with Boisterous Bourree. This movement includes themes from two of Britten’s earlier works: Suite No. 1 in E for Piano and Song A Country Dance for voice and piano. Opening with grand chords from the whole orchestra sets the mood for the whole symphony. A very upbeat melody is introduced in a minor key initially, but switches quickly into a major key. The flipping back and forth between minor and major keys brings a unique contrast and feel to the first movement.

The second movement is Playful Pizzicato. This whole movement is played with plucked strings, known as pizzicato. It is a very upbeat and lighthearted movement and the plethora of pizzicato brings a unique texture. About a quarter into the movement, a different technique of pizzicato is used where multiple strings are plucked at once and strummed. This creates very beautiful chords across the orchestra.

The third movement is Sentimental Sarabande. This is a dramatic and heart-wrenching movement. The melody played in the violins and counter melody played in the cellos or violas bring out the story and emotion of this piece. The whole movement feels very sad, dramatic, and powerful. The minor key throughout this movement is very effective in creating that sad and dramatic emotion. The violin melody is almost pleading throughout the entire movement.

The fourth movement is Frolicsome Finale. Opening with a grand motif of ascending fifths throughout the whole orchestra brings your heart rate up after the last movement. The fast tempo and exciting rhythms make you feel like something is almost chasing you. A very exciting and fast-paced movement brings this symphony to a close in a very fun way.

You can listen to Britten’s Simple Symphony on CD or streaming from the AU Library. You can also follow along with the score, available from the AU Music Library online or in print!