#113 The Smell of England

Rejoice, O English hearts, rejoice! What's more English than Britten's Spring Symphony? Both layered and simple, gentle and noble.

When Robbin joins Ainsley at 1'11'', the words are like the olympic flame. And then the growing and the explosion at 1'35''... for this grass should be ever green. And so, my friends, I cease.

Composer: Benjamin Britten
Work: Spring Symphony, Part IV Finale: "London, to thee I do present"
Recording: Alison Hagley, Catherine Robbin, John Mark Ainsley, The Boy and Girl Choristers of Salisbury Cathedral, The Monteverdi Choir, Philharmonia Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner