Saint Nicolas op. 42 A Cantata 布瑞顿 清唱剧 总谱 博浩版
尼古拉》（注意，名字中没有 "H"！）是为苏塞克斯郡的兰辛学院百年校庆而作，彼得-皮尔斯十几岁时曾就读于这所位于英格兰南海岸的独立寄宿中学。该校有一座巨大的礼拜堂，其创始人纳撒尼尔-伍德牧师打算将其庞大基金会的所有学校统称为 "伍德 "学校，并将其作为大教堂。圣尼古拉因许多传奇奇迹和 "圣诞老人 "的原型而闻名。克罗齐尔的剧本旨在讲述圣尼古拉的生平故事，讲述他最著名的一些行为，并在关键时刻让观众/会众有机会加入到两首优美的赞美诗中： 地球上居住的所有人 "和 "上帝以神秘的方式创造奇迹"。叙事全部由合唱团完成，但男高音在扮演成熟的尼古拉时也唱第一人称叙事。在第二乐章中，年轻的尼古拉由一名男孩演唱。第三乐章是伴奏朗诵，独唱者唱出了尼古拉在生活的诸多干扰和诱惑的痛苦和折磨中献身于上帝的情景。他的信仰赢得了胜利，最后他唱出了一句感人的歌词："爱得到了满足"。在下一个乐章 "他前往巴勒斯坦 "中，大海掀起了风暴。它威胁着要掀翻船只，淹没船上的所有人。半合唱团的女高音和女低音发出哀号，男高音和男低音则痛苦地呼唤 "操作水泵"。最后，尼古拉乞求上帝让暴风雨停息，并对他们的平安抵达表示感谢。在第五乐章 "尼古拉来到迈拉并被选为主教 "中，合唱团唱出合唱般的乐句，欢迎他成为他们的新主教。在第五乐章 "尼古拉来到迈拉并被推选为主教 "中，唱诗班唱出了合唱般的乐句，欢迎他成为他们的新主教，他们为他穿上了主教的所有服饰，包括头巾、牛角杖（与编剧名字的双关语）、长袍和戒指。充满活力的合唱 "为信仰服务，唾弃他的敌人 "引出了第一首伟大的赞美诗--这是一个美妙的高潮时刻。最后一个乐章讲述了尼古拉之死，作品在另一首伟大的赞美诗中结束： 最后乐章讲述了尼古拉的死，作品以另一首伟大的赞美诗结束："上帝以神秘的方式运行"。这部作品向我展示了布里顿宽广的胸怀，以及他对丰富各种水平曲目的自然感受。真是一份礼物！保罗-斯派塞，利奇菲尔德，2011 年"
作曲家: Britten, Benjamin
乐器: tenor solo, mixed choir (SATB), women's choir (SA), 4 boy's voices, string orchestra, piano (4 hands) and percussion
出版社: Boosey & Hawkes
曲目:
Introduction - The Birth of Nicolas - Nicolas devotes himself to God - He journeys to Palestine - Nicolas comes to Myra and is chosen Bishop - Nicolas from Prison - Nicolas and the Pickled Boys - His piety and marvellous works - The Death of Nicolas
Saint Nicolas (note the name has no 'H' in it!) was written for the centenary of Lancing College in Sussex, the independent secondary boarding school on the south coast of England which Peter Pears had attended in his teens. It has a vast chapel intended by its founder, Revd Nathaniel Woodard, as the cathedral for all the schools of his extensive foundation known collectively as 'Woodard' schools. St. Nicolas is famous for many legendary miracles and for being the original 'Santa Claus'. Crozier's libretto is designed to tell the story of his life, to recount some of his most celebrated acts and to give the audience/congregation the opportunity of joining in two beautiful hymns at key moments: 'All people that on earth do dwell' and 'God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform'. The narration is all done by the choir, though the tenor sings first-person narratives as well in his role as the mature Nicolas. The young Nicolas is sung by a boy in movement II. There is a dramatic moment at the end of this movement when the boy's voice does a tumble and the tenor proclaims in the voice of Nicolas as a young man: 'God be glorified'.The third movement is an accompanied recitative in which the soloist sings of Nicolas devoting himself to God through the agonies and torment of the many distractions and temptations of life. His faith wins through and he sings a final touching phrase: 'and Love was satisfied'. The sea whips up a storm in the next movement: 'He journeys to Palestine'. It threatens to overturn the ship and drown everyone on board. There is wailing from the sopranos and altos of the semi-chorus and agonised calls from the tenors and basses to 'man the pumps'. Finally, Nicolas begs God to let the storm cease and offers thanks for their safe delivery. Britten creates a palpable sense of relief in the final pages.In the fifth movement, 'Nicolas comes to Myra and is chosen Bishop', the choir sings chorale-like phrases welcoming him as their new Bishop. They go through his ceremonial dressing with all the accoutrements of his office, the mitre, crozier (nice pun on the librettist's name), robe and ring. An energetic chorus 'Serve the faith and spurn his enemies' leads to the first great hymn - a wonderfully climactic moment. Britten's arrangement is suitably uplifting.The final movement tells of Nicolas' death and the work ends with the other great hymn: 'God moves in a mysterious way'. This work demonstrates to me Britten's generosity of spirit and his natural feeling for enriching the repertoire at all levels of attainment. What a gift!Paul Spicer, Lichfield, 2011