Britten: Hymn to St. Cecilia

Written on an ocean crossing during WWII, Britten's classic tripartite work extols the virtues of the patron saint of music, Cecilia, upon whose feast day Britten was born. The text, by W.H. Auden displays the characteristics of a typical ode, with an opening invocation of Cecilia. After a second movement which is seemingly playful and naïve, the final movement presents veiled mourning of the casualties of war before the recap of the opening material.