The ''Simple Symphony'', Op. 4, is a work for

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

. It was written between December 1933 and February 1934 in

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, using material that the composer had written as a child, between 1923 and 1926. It received its first performance in 1934 at Stuart Hall in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, with Britten conducting an amateur orchestra. The piece is dedicated to Audrey Alston (Mrs Lincolne Sutton), Britten's childhood viola teacher. The piece is based on eight themes which Britten wrote during his childhood (two per movement) and for which he had a particular fondness. He completed his final draft of this piece at age twenty.

Instrumentation

*1st violins *2nd violins *Violas *Cellos *Double basses

Borrowed themes

The symphony has four movements, each quoting themes from two earlier works by Britten: :I. Boisterous Bourrée ::– Suite No. 1 in E for piano (18 October 1925), second movement (Bourrée: Allegro vivace) ::– Song (Song) (1923) A Country Dance ('Now the King is home again'), text from Tennyson's The Foresters, for voice and piano. :II. Playful Pizzicato ::– Scherzo (piano) (1924) Sonata for piano in B flat major, op. 5, Scherzo and Trio (Molto vivace) ::– Song (1924) The Road Song of the "Bandar-Log" ('Here we go in a flung festoon', text by Rudyard Kipling), for voice and piano. :III. Sentimental Sarabande ::– Suite No. 3 (for piano) (1925) Suite No. 3, in F minor, for piano, op. 25, Prelude (Allegro di molto) ::– Waltz for piano (1923) altz in B major for piano (Tempo di valse) :IV. Frolicsome Finale ::– Piano Sonata No. 9 (1926) Piano Sonata No. 9, in C minor, op. 38, Finale ::– Song (1925) The entire piece lasts about 20 minutes. The pizzicato in the second movement makes it popular with mandolin players. Prominent in this popular theme are eight notes which sound familiar as echoing the opening of "Barwick Green", the theme music to the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, "The Archers", written in 1924 by Arthur Wood. The third movement samples a traditional Swedish melody heard also in the popular Christian hymn “How Great Thou Art”.

Later uses

In 1944, the choreographer

Walter Gore Walter Gore (8 October 1910 – 16 April 1979) was a British ballet dancer, company director and choreographer. Early life Walter Gore was born in Waterside, East Ayrshire Scotland in 1910 into a theatrical family. From 1924, he studied a ...

created a ballet also entitled '' Simple Symphony'' for the

Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

. Many themes of the symphony are also used for the soundtrack '' Bad Blood'' (1986) by

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was ''Boy Meets Girl (1984 film), Boy Me ...

. It appears in

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

's film ''

Moonrise Kingdom ''Moonrise Kingdom'' is a 2012 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, and starring Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, ...

'' (2012), which prominently features many pieces by Britten. It also appears in the first two seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2018).

References

* * Symphonies by Benjamin Britten Symphonies for string orchestra 1934 compositions {{symphony-stub