Mar-May 1962
Traditional folk song adapted by Britten from The ten commandments in English folk songs from the southern Appalachians, collected by Cecil Sharp, vol II, pp. 283-6. The melody is from Journal of the folksong society, 21 (November 1928), p. 24. This arrangement and that of King Herod and the cock were made to replace a large-scale version of 'The bitter withy' for tenor, boys' choir and piano, but the latter was beyond the ability of the London Boy Singers for whom it was intended. 'The bitter withy' had been planned as Canticle IV, but remained unfinished.
3 items
Material has been microfilmed and is available as follows:
Sketch page: A37, frames 469 - 474
Composition sketch: A37, frames 475 - 487
Voice part: A37, frames 488 - 490
Archive
https://www.bpacatalogue.org/archive/BBM-the_twelve_apostles
