The Canticles constitute a series of five musical works by composer
Benjamin Britten. The pieces were written at various points in his career, with three of them written as memorials. Instrumentation differs on each piece, and several are based on non-sacred texts. A review in Opera Today notes, "Britten didn't draw upon the Scriptures for the texts of his
canticles, which resemble
cantatas more than church
hymns in scale and structure, but an intense religious spirit pervades them all."[1] Musicologist
Peter Evans notes the works contain a "mood of spiritual elevation intense enough to demand realization in an ambitious musical structure".[2]
Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus, Op. 89, was written in 1974 in memory of
William Plomer. It was written for performance by
Peter Pears and harpist
Osian Ellis.[6]