Three compositions written for children's voices performed by the Maîtrise de Radio France on themes of travel, seafaring and adventure…

The 'Chansons de bord' of Henri Dutilleux and the 'Chansons populaires' of Daniel-Lesur, now released on CD for the first time, were both motivated in the post-war years by a desire to link with the past through setting songs from French popular tradition.

The Vienna Boy’s Choir commissioned the vaudeville 'The Golden Vanity' from Britten in 1966. They performed it for the first time at the following year’s Aldeburgh Festival, as part of the first concert at the Snape Maltings. Britten worked with Colin Graham on the libretto of what is in effect a small opera, known by Graham as ‘a miniature Billy Budd‘. It tells the story of a battle at sea, and a cabin-boy who ensures victory for the crew of The Golden Vanity by drilling holes in the pirate ship they are fighting, and sinking it. His captain reneges on his promised reward (the hand of his daughter), and leaves the boy to drown but the spirit of the boy returns at the end of the piece, just as in Curlew River two years before.