Parent Record(s)

LevelSection

ReferenceBBM/amdg

Subtitle / Other TitleSeven settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins for SATB unaccompanied

Original Opus NoOp. 17.

Date5-30 Aug 1939

Description'A.M.D.G.' ('Ad majorem Dei gloriam') was intended for Peter Pears and his Round Table Singers and was therefore designed for performance by a quartet of soloists. The première was planned for November 1939, at the Aeolian Hall, London; work on the piece seems to have been abandoned at the outbreak of war, though nos 1, 2, 5 and 7 were performed in America at untraced concerts some time before 1942 (there are copies of these numbers in Pears's hand, made for use by a small group of solo singers formed by Pears in the USA). This work was formerly known as Opus 17, but this opus number was later allocated to Paul Bunyan (1939-41) after Britten had refused several opportunities to publish 'A.M.D.G.' towards the end of his life
Movements:
1. Prayer I
2. Rosa mystica
3. God's grandeur
4. Prayer II
5. O Deus, eg amo te
6. The soldier
7. Heaven-haven

Extent5 items

CopiesMaterial has been microfilmed and is available as follows:
Composition sketch: A28, frames 351 - 381
Fair copy: A21, frames 17 - 24
Fair copy in Pears' hand: A28, frames 382 - 388
Transparencies in Pears' hand: A228, frames 394 - 396
Fair copy - incomplete: A28, frames 389 - 393

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