The Library Collections
The extensive collections comprise printed scores, books and periodicals, electronic resources and audio and video recordings.
Printed music
The Library’s collection development policy relating to printed music includes the acquisition of all new Britten publications and reprints, the continuation of collected and complete editions to which Britten and Pears subscribed (and some others) and the occasional purchase of new editions of music closely related with Britten. The collection includes:
- the complete published works of Benjamin Britten
- music used and annotated by Pears or Britten
- a range of complete and collected editions
- printers' copies, proofs and early editions of Britten's works
- English vocal music, from the sixteenth century to the present day, often in early editions
Books and periodicals
Building on the extensive collection put together by Britten and Pears themselves, the Library continues to acquire new books relating to twentieth-century music (especially British), and to literary and artistic movements in which Britten and Pears were interested and figures with whom they were connected. The collection is particularly strong in the following areas:
- literature relating to Britten, Pears and their associates
- literature related to English songs and singers
- published and unpublished dissertations relating to Britten and Pears
There is also an extensive general collection of poetry, drama and books on other subjects.
The Library subscribes to a range of music journals, and also collects individual copies of journals containing articles relating to Britten.
Online resources
A range of online resources are available on site, including The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Mediated searches on other online databases are also available to readers on request.
Sound & film
The Library seeks to acquire a copy of every commercially available sound recording of Britten's music. In addition it has an extensive archive of sound recordings and video cassettes relating to the careers and lives of Britten and Pears. The library is currently engaged on a project to transfer many of its analogue tape recordings onto CD.
The Holst Library at Snape
The Holst Library, located at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape Maltings (six miles from Aldeburgh), is staffed and administered by The Britten-Pears Library. This lending library was initiated by the gift of the late Imogen Holst (who worked closely with Britten for many years) and contains music, books and sound recordings covering a wide repertoire. It includes scores that formerly belonged to Gustav Holst, and has greatly benefited by gifts from the late Eva, Countess of Rosebery, DBE, Mr. W. T. O'Brien (the Dwayne Phillips Collection), Lord Balfour of Inchrye, the Estate of John Julian Stanton, and bequests from Leslie A. Periton and others.