Britten in Suffolk: community

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Although Britten and Pears performed as far away as India and Japan, they continued to give concerts all over Suffolk.  Britten wrote of his work: ‘I want my music to be of use to people, to please them, to enhance their lives’.

Britten composed much of his music with the local community in mind, and he played an active part in amateur music-making.  One of his best-known works, Noye’s Fludde, is written for both professional musicians and children.  It is scored for many instruments including recorders, bugles, handbells, sandpaper blocks and ‘slung mugs’.  The congregation also takes part in three hymns.

Britten’s music was shaped by the landscapes of the Suffolk coast.  His first full-scale opera, Peter Grimes, depicts the sea in all its moods, and the waves that Britten heard on his walks along the Aldeburgh shore.  The opera is based on The Borough by the Suffolk poet George Crabbe, and tells the story of a fisherman cast out a fictional town closely based on Aldeburgh.  Britten wrote about his work: ‘I wanted to express my awareness of the perpetual struggle of men and women whose livelihood depends on the sea’.  

Britten enjoyed walking on the beach, swimming in the sea, and chatting with local friends.  To mark his contribution to the area, he was awarded the Freedom of Lowestoft in 1951, and the Freedom of Aldeburgh in 1962.  In 1976, he became the first musician ever to receive a Life Peerage, and took the title of Baron Britten of Aldeburgh in the County of Suffolk.  Pears received a knighthood in 1978 for his services to music.