''The Golden Vanity'' is a

musical setting A musical setting is a musical composition that is written on the basis of a literary work. The literary work is said to be ''set'', or adapted, ''to music''. Musical settings include choral music and other vocal music. A musical setting is made to ...

of an adaptation by

Colin Graham Colin Graham OBE (22 September 1931 in Hove, England – 6 April 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a stage director of opera, theatre, and television. Graham was educated at Northaw School (Hertfordshire), Stowe School and RADA. Early in his ...

of a traditional

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

, also known as "

The Sweet Trinity "The Sweet Trinity" ( Roud 122, Child 286), also known as "The Golden Vanity", "The Golden Willow Tree" or "The Turkish Revelry" is an English folk song or sea shanty. The first surviving version, dated to 1635, was "Sir Walter Raleigh Sailing ...

", for boys' voices (five soloists and chorus) and piano by the English composer

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 ...

(191376). The composer described it as a ''

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

''. The boys act out parts as well as sing; Britten wrote on the score: "The Vaudeville should be given in costume but without scenery ... The action ... should be mimed in a simple way and only a few basic properties, such as telescopes and a rope, are needed ... A drum should be used for the sound of cannon fire". The Golden Vanity was composed in 1966, and premiered on 3 June 1967 at the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

by the Vienna Boys' Choir (

Wiener Sängerknaben The Vienna Boys' Choir () is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private ...

), to whom it was dedicated. Britten's notes on the score indicate that the work came about as a result of a request from the boys of the

themselves, to perform on their tours. "They particularly asked that they should not have to play girls' parts", Britten wrote. The Golden Vanity was published as his Op. 78.Liner notes to

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

CD 436 397-2. According to Graham, the Vienna Boys Choir gave a "riotous" performance at the premiere; but when they returned to England to perform it at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...

some months later, they were "absolutely shattered and exhausted" after "one of their interminable world tours". Britten "was furious and lodged a formal complaint with the director of the choir for exploiting and exhausting the boys". The work was subsequently dropped from their repertoire. Britten set one of the darker versions of the song, in which the brave

cabin boy A cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy or young man who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain. The modern merchant navy successor to the cabin boy is the steward's assistant. Duties Cabin boys ...

is abandoned to drown.

John Bridcut John Bridcut MVO is an English documentary filmmaker. Bridcut was educated at Radley College and Keble College, Oxford, obtaining a MA in literae humaniores (classics) in 1971. He is a honorary fellow of Keble College. Career In 1975 he joined ...

has summarised it thus: "It tells the story of a battle at sea, and a cabin-boy who ensures victory for the crew of ''The Golden Vanity'' by drilling holes in the

pirate ship Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

they are fighting, and sinking it. His captain reneges on his promised reward (the hand of his daughter), and leaves the boy to drown. But the spirit of the boy returns at the end of the piece, just as in ''

Curlew River ''Curlew River – A Parable for Church Performance'' (Op. 71) is an English music drama, with music by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer. The first of Britten's three 'Parables for Church Performance', the work is based on the ...

'' two years before." The work includes passing literary and musical allusions to Britten's 1951

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'', also known as ''Billy Budd, Foretopman'', is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed vers ...

''. It falls into four sections: # "There Was a Ship Came from the North Country" # "Then Up Spake the Cabin-boy" # "Casting His Clothes Off He Dived into the Sea" # "They Laid Him on the Deck" A typical performance takes about 18 minutes.

Recordings

* 1993The Wandsworth School Boys' Choir, Benjamin Britten (piano), Russell Burgess (choral director). Decca CD 436 397-2; recorded 1970 * 1994

, Andrei Gavrilov (piano).

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

CD 439 778-2 * 2005 Monnaie Children's Choir, Bruno Crabbé (piano). Fuga Libera FUG507 CD

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Vanity, The 1966 compositions Choral compositions by Benjamin Britten