Britten: The Prince of the Pagodas

Here is something of an overlooked gem. The Prince of the Pagodas was British composer Benjamin Britten’s only full-length ballet. The opera composer, with no voices to work with, instead used his remarkable skill as an orchestrator to bring the various characters to sharp life. The result is a superb showcase for any top orchestra, as it is here for the Hallé as well as its new principal conductor, Singapore-born Kahchun Wong. Wong’s very first concert in that post with the orchestra included a selection of seven dances from Pagodas. Here, they perform the ballet complete. Wong was particularly drawn to the work by its extraordinary transcription of Balinese gamelan music—a feat so consummate that the ear is tricked into thinking it’s hearing an Indonesian ensemble of metallophones (similar in principle to the glockenspiel), tuned gongs and drums rather than conventional Western orchestral instruments. Used to depict the Prince’s kingdom, this provides a genuine exotic foil to the otherwise fantastically colourful but recognisably Western-style music (Prokofiev an obvious influence) used to depict the kingdom of the heroine, Belle Rose. Tempos tend on the steady side, giving the players time to play with accuracy and for different instrumental colours to be carefully balanced—every detail of Britten’s meticulous instrumental scoring is clear. Yet there are also moments of tremendous excitement and drive, such as the final dance of the sea creatures in Act II (Track 20), or the joyous final sequence of dances in Act III, with which the heroine Belle Rose and the Prince celebrate the liberation of her kingdom. Inside the Album Booklet Kahchun Wong writes a personal note about his relationship with Pagodas, and Britten scholar Philip Reed provides a detailed history of Britten’s composition of the score, including many lesser-known facts such as the composer’s subsequent unfulfilled project to write a ballet exploring aspects of Aboriginal culture. Album booklets are available in the latest version of Apple Music Classical, which you can download and enjoy as part of your Apple Music subscription. To access booklets, tap on the book icon at the top of your screen.