This substantial cycle was written for the tenor Peter Pears, and first performed by him in 1953 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, with the distinguished pianist Noel Mewton-Wood. It follws the example of Britten's Serenade in setting a variety of poets, and the set is framed by settings of the same words by Goethe in translation by Louis MacNeice, the unifying factor being presumably the quality of the poetry. The angry setting of Timor Mortis, using the well-known Dies Irae tune is the emotional hear of the cycle. John Turner 2010