So, for example, the first variation features the piccolo and flutes each member of the woodwind family then gets a variation, ending with the bassoon and so on, through the strings, brass, and finally the percussion. In the introduction, the theme is initially played by the entire orchestra, then by each major family of instruments of the orchestra: first the woodwinds, then the brass, then the strings, and finally by the percussion.Įach variation then features a particular instrument in depth, in the same family order, and generally moving through each family from high to low. Courtesy of Wikipedia: 'The work is based on the Rondeau from Henry Purcell's incidental music (1695) to Aphra Behn's Abdelazer, and is structured, in accordance with the plan of the original documentary film, as a way of showing off the tone colours and capacities of the various sections of the orchestra. Mono recording, clearly transcribed from an LP record, it still shines - both in performance and historical importance. In this 1955 recording, Benjamin Britten's lifelong partner, tenor Peter Pears, narrates. It was first performed in public in late 1946. It was originally commissioned for an educational documentary film called Instruments of the Orchestra, directed by Muir Mathieson and featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. A great favourite of mine, 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' was composed by Benjamin Britten in 1945 (completed on New Year's Eve 1945 in fact) with a subtitle 'Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell'.
UPDATE: I have added a clickable INDEX to the instruments/variations below.