List of compositions by Michael Tippett

The compositional career of the British composer Michael Tippett extended over eight decades, from juvenilia and unpublished works written in the 1920s to his final works of the 1990s. He composed across many genres, from large-scale orchestral works and full-length operas to solo songs and brass band fanfares. From the mid-1930s his music began to be published and performed publicly. The main list is restricted to published and publicly performed works; a subsidiary list gives details of unpublished pieces, some of which may have been privately performed.

Published works

Opera

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1946–52	The Midsummer Marriage	Voices and orchestra	27 January 1955: London. Royal Opera House cond. John Pritchard	Opera in three acts. Libretto by composer. See also "Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage" in orchestral works	[1]
1958–61	King Priam	Voices and orchestra	29 May 1962: Coventry. Coventry Theatre. Royal Opera House chorus & orch. cond. John Pritchard	Opera in three acts. Libretto by composer.	[2]
1966–69	The Knot Garden	Voices and orchestra	2 December 1970: London. Royal Opera House cond. Colin Davis	Opera in three acts. Libretto by composer.	[3]
1973–76	The Ice Break	Voices and orchestra	7 July 1977: London. Royal Opera House cond. Colin Davis	Opera in three acts. Libretto by composer.	[3]
1985–88	New Year	Voices and orchestra	27 October 1989: Houston, Texas. Houston Grand Opera cond. John DeMain	Opera in three acts. Libretto by composer. Orchestral Suite 1989.	[4][5]

Orchestral

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1938–39	Concerto for Double String Orchestra	Orchestra	21 April 1940: London. South London Orchestra (Morley College) cond. Michael Tippett	Dedicated "to Jeffrey Mark"	[6]
1944–45	Symphony No. 1	Orchestra	10 November 1945: Liverpool. Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Malcolm Sargent		[1]
1946	Little Music for Strings	String Orchestra	9 November 1946: London. Jacques Orchestra cond. Reginald Jacques	Written for 10th anniversary of Jacques String Orchestra	[1]
1948	Suite in D: Birthday Suite for Prince Charles	Orchestra	15 November 1948: London. BBC broadcast, BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Sir Adrian Boult	BBC commission to mark Prince Charles's birth. Revised in 1983 by Brian Bowen	[1]
1952	Ritual Dances from The Midsummer Marriage	Orchestra and optional chorus	13 February 1953: Basel. Basler Kammerorchester cond. Paul Sacher	Dedicated "to Walter Goehr"	[1]
1953	Variations on an Elizabethan Theme (Composite work: second variation, "Lament" by Tippett)	Small Orchestra	16 June 1953: London. BBC broadcast, orchestra cond. Benjamin Britten	Variations by six composers. First public performance Aldeburgh Festival, 20 June 1953	[7]
1953	Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli	String orchestra	29 August 1953: Edinburgh. BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Michael Tippett	Edinburgh Festival celebration of tercentenary of birth of Arcangelo Corelli	[8]
1953–54	Divertimento on Sellinger's Round	Chamber orchestra	5 November 1954: Zürich. Collegium Musicum Zürich cond. Paul Sacher	Commissioned by, and dedicated to, Paul Sacher	[8]
1956–57	Symphony No. 2	Orchestra	5 February 1958: London. BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Sir Adrian Boult	Dedicated "to John Minchinton"	[2]
Chamber/ /instrumental	1962	Incidental music for The Tempest	Voices and ensemble	29 May 1962: London. Old Vic production; music directed by John Lambert		[9]
1962–63	Concerto for Orchestra	Orchestra	28 August 1963: Edinburgh. London Symphony Orchestra cond. Colin Davis	Written in celebration of Benjamin Britten's 50th birthday and dedicated to him	[10]
1966	"Braint" (last of Severn Bridge Variations, a composite work)	Orchestra	12 January 1967: Swansea. BBC Training Orchestra cond Sir Adrian Boult	One of 7 variations on a trad. Welsh melody, each by a different composer	[3]
1970–72	Symphony No. 3	Soprano and orchestra	22 June 1972: London. Heather Harper, London Symphony Orchestra cond. Colin Davis	Dedicated "to Howard Hartog"	[3]
1976–77	Symphony No. 4	Orchestra	6 October 1977: Chicago. Chicago Symphony Orchestra cond. Sir Georg Solti	Dedicated "to Ian Kemp"	[11]
1988	Water Out of Sunlight	Orchestra	15 June 1988: London. Academy of St Martin in the Fields cond. Neville Marriner	Orchestral arrangement by Meirion Bowen of String Quartet No. 4 (1977–78)	[5][12]
1991–93	The Rose Lake	Orchestra	19 February 1995: London. London Symphony Orchestra cond. Colin Davis	Premiered at a Tippett 90th birthday celebration concert	[13]

Concertante

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1939–41	Fantasia on a Theme of Handel	Piano and orchestra	7 March 1942: London. Phyllis Sellick, London Symphony Orchestra cond. Walter Goehr	Dedicated "to Phyllis Sellick"	[6]
1953–55	Piano Concerto	Piano and orchestra	30 October 1956: Birmingham. Louis Kentner, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra cond. Rudolf Schwarz	Dedicated "to Evelyn Maude"	[8]
1978–79	Triple concerto for violin, viola and cello	Violin, viola, cello and orchestra	22 August 1980: London. György Pauk, Nobuko Imai, Ralph Kirshbaum, London Symphony Orchestra cond. Colin Davis	Dedicated "to Herbert and Betty Barrett"	[11]

Choral

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1939–41	Oratorio: A Child of Our Time	SATB soloists, choir and orchestra	19 March 1944: London. Joan Cross, Margaret MacArthur, Peter Pears, Roderick Lloyd, London Regional Civil Defence Choir, Morley College Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Walter Goehr	Text by Michael Tippett, who in 1958 arranged the five spirituals for unaccompanied chorus.	[6]
1942	Two Madrigals for unaccompanied chorus: "The Source" and "The Windhover"	SATB chorus	17 July 1943: London. Morley College Choir cond. Walter Bergmann	Settings of poems by Edward Thomas and Gerard Manley Hopkins	[6]
1943–44	Motet: Plebs Angelica	Double choir	16 September 1944: Canterbury. Fleet Street Choir cond. T. B. Lawrence	Commissioned by Canterbury Cathedral and dedicated to the cathedral's choir	[6]
1944	Motet: The Weeping Babe	Soprano and SATB choir	24 December 1944: London. BBC broadcast, BBC Singers cond. Leslie Woodgate	Setting of poem by Edith Sitwell. Dedicated "in memory of Bronwen Wilson"	[1]
1956	Four Songs from the British Isles: "Early One Morning"; "Lillibullero"; "Poortith cauld"; "Gwenllian"	Unaccompanied SATB chorus	6 July 1958: Royaumont Abbey, France. London Bach Group cond. John Minchinton	Performed at the 1958 Royaumont Festival	[2]
1956	"Over The Sea To Skye"	Unaccompanied SATB chorus	31 July 2003: Dublin. National Chamber Choir of Ireland conducted by Celso Antunes	Work lost after 1956, rediscovered 2002	[14]
1958	Cantata: Crown of the Year	SSA chorus; recorders or flutes, oboe, clarinet, cornet or trumpet, string quartet, percussion, handbells and piano	25 July 1958: Bristol. Badminton School choir and ensemble, cond. Michael Tippett	Composed for the Badminton School centenary	[2]
1958	Hymn tune: Wadhurst (setting for "Unto the hills around", by John Campbell)			Written at the request of The Salvation Army	[2]
1960	"Music" (Shelley poem)	Unison voices, strings and piano (or voices and strings)	26 April 1960: Tunbridge Wells. Choirs of East Sussex and West Kent Choral Festival, cond. Trevor Harvey		[2]
1961	Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis	SATB chorus and organ	13 March 1962: Cambridge. St John's College Chapel Choir cond. George Guest	Composed for the 450th anniversary of the foundation of St John's College, Cambridge	[10]
1962–65	The Vision of Saint Augustine	Baritone solo, chorus and orchestra	19 January 1966: London. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, BBC Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra cond. Michael Tippett	Commissioned by BBC	[10]
1965–70	The Shires Suite	Chorus and orchestra	8 July 1970: Cheltenham. Schola Cantorum of Oxford, Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra cond. Michael Tippett	Written for the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra	[3]
1980–82	Oratorio: The Mask of Time	SATB soloists, chorus and orchestra	5 April 1984: Boston. Faye Robinson, Yvonne Minton, Robert Tear, John Cheek, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Symphony Orchestra cond. Colin Davis	Commissioned for 100th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra	[11]

Vocal

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1943	Cantata: Boyhood's End	Tenor and piano	5 June 1943: London. Peter Pears (tenor), Benjamin Britten (piano)	Text by W. H. Hudson	[6]
1950–51	Song cycle: The Heart's Assurance	Solo high voice and piano	7 May 1951: London. Peter Pears (tenor) and Benjamin Britten (piano)	Setting of poems by Sidney Keyes and Alun Lewis. Dedicated "in memory of Francesca Allinson (1902–45)"	[1]
1952	Madrigal for five voices: "Dance, Clarion Air"	Two sopranos, alto, tenor, bass	1 June 1953: London. Golden Age Singers and the Cambridge University Madrigal Society cond. Boris Ord	Text by Christopher Fry. From A Garland for the Queen, a collection of madrigals by various composers, marking the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II	[8]
1956	Bonny at Morn (folksong arrangement)	Unison voices, recorder accompaniment	April 1956	Written for 10th anniversary of the International Pestalozzi Children's Village at Trogen	[8]
1959	Lullaby for Six Voices	Six voices, alternately for alto solo and small SSTTB choir	31 January 1960: London. Deller Consort	Written for the Deller Consort's 10th anniversary	[2]
1960	Words for Music Perhaps	Speaking voice and chamber ensemble	8 June 1960: London. BBC broadcast, ensemble conducted by Michael Tippett	Poem by W. B. Yeats	[10]
1961	Songs for Achilles	Tenor and guitar	7 July 1961: Aldeburgh. Peter Pears (tenor), Julian Bream (guitar)	Sung at Aldeburgh Festival 1961	[10]
1962	Songs for Ariel	Solo voice, piano or harpsichord	21 September 1962: London. Grayston Burgess and Virginia Pleasants	Adapted from The Tempest incidental music (1962); rearranged in 1964 for voice and small instrumental ensemble	[10][14]
1970	Songs for Dov	Tenor and small orchestra	12 October 1970: Cardiff. Gerard English, London Sinfonietta cond. Michael Tippett	Dedicated "to Eric Walter White"	[3]
1988–90	Byzantium	Soprano and orchestra	11 April 1991: Chicago. Faye Robinson, Chicago Symphony Orchestra cond. Sir Georg Solti		[15]
1995	Caliban's Song	Baritone and piano	26 November 1995: London. BBC broadcast, David Barrell (bar), and Iain Burnside (piano)	Incorporated in Suite: The Tempest (1995)	[16]
1995	Suite: The Tempest	Tenor, baritone, and ensemble	14 December 1995: London. Martyn Hill, tenor, David Barrell, baritone, Nash Ensemble cond. Andrew Parrot	Arranged by Meiron Bowen from The Tempest incidental music	[17]

Chamber / Instrumental

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1934–35	String Quartet No. 1	Violin (2), viola, cello	9 December 1935: London. Brosa Quartet	Dedicated "to Wilfred Franks". Revised in 1943	[18]
1936–38	Piano Sonata No. 1	Piano	11 November 1938: London. Phyllis Sellick	Dedicated "to Francesca Allinson"	[6]
1941–42	String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp	Violin (2), viola, cello	27 March 1943: London. Zorian Quartet	Dedicated "to Walter Bergmann"	[6]
1945–46	String Quartet No. 3	Violin (2), viola, cello	19 October 1946: London. Zorian Quartet	Dedicated "to Mrs Mary Behrend"	[1]
1946	"Preludio al Vespro di Monteverdi"	Solo organ	5 July 1946: London. Geraint Jones	Dedicated "for Geraint Jones"	[1]
1954	Four Inventions for recorders	Treble and descant recorders	1 August 1954: London. Society of Recorder Players		[8]
1955	Sonata for Four Horns	French horns	20 December 1955: London Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble		[8]
1962	Piano Sonata No. 2	Piano	3 September 1962: Edinburgh. Margaret Kitchin	Dedicated "to Margaret Kitchin"	[10]
1962	Praeludium	Brass, bells and percussion	14 November 1962: London. BBC Symphony Orchestra (sections) cond. Antal Doráti	Composed for 40th anniversary of the BBC	[10]
1962–63	"Mosaic"	Wind band		Setting of first movement of Concerto for Orchestra (1962–63)	[14]
1964	Prelude, Recitative and Aria	Flute, oboe and harpsichord or piano	February 1964: London. BBC broadcast, Orion Trio	Arrangement of Hermes’ aria "O Divine Music" from King Priam (1958–61)	[14]
1971	In Memoriam Magistri	Flute, clarinet and string quartet	17 June 1972: London. London Sinfonietta cond. Elgar Howarth	Commissioned by Tempo magazine in memory of Igor Stravinsky (died 6 April 1971)	[3]
1972–73	Piano Sonata No. 3	Piano	26 May 1973: Bath. Paul Crossley	Dedicated "to Anna Kallin"	[3]
1977–78	String Quartet No. 4	Violin (2), viola, cello	20 May 1979: Bath. Lindsay String Quartet	Dedicated "to Michael Tillett, colleague and friend". For orchestral version see Water Out of Sunlight (1988)	[11]
1982–83	The Blue Guitar	Solo guitar	9 November 1983: Pasadena, Ca. Julian Bream	Dedicated "to the memory of Calvin Simmons (1950–82)"	[11]
1983–84	Piano Sonata No. 4	Piano	14 January 1985: Los Angeles. Paul Crossley	Dedicated "to Michael Vyner"	[19]
1985	A Vision of the Island (adaptation of The Tempest incidental music)	Speakers, four male voices, chamber ensemble	25 October 1985: London. BBC broadcast, members of Taverner Consort and Nash Ensemble cond. Andrew Parrott		[19]
1990–91	String Quartet No. 5	Violin (2), viola, cello	May 1992: Sheffield. Lindsay Quartet		[20]
1991	Prelude: Autumn	Oboe and piano			[5]

Brass band

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	First performance details	Notes	Ref.
1943	Brass Fanfare No. 1	Four horns, three trumpets, three trombones	21 September 1943: Northampton. Band of the Northamptonshire Regiment	Commissioned for the 30th anniversary of the consecration of St Matthew's Church, Northampton	[6]
1953	Brass Fanfares Nos 2 and 3	No. 2 (four trumpets); No. 3 (three trumpets)	6 June 1963: St Ives, Cornwall. Trumpeters from RAF Mawgan		[8]
1980	Brass Fanfare No. 4: Wolf Trap	Three trumpets, two trombones and tuba	29 June 1980: Wolf Trap, Virginia. Members of National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, cond. Hugh Wolff		[11]
1983	Festal Brass with Blues	Brass band	6 February 1984: Hong Kong. Fairey Engineering Band. cond. Howard Williams		[19]
1987	Brass Band Fanfare No. 5	4 horns, 4 trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, percussion	June 1987: Philip Jones Brass Ensemble cond. Elgar Howarth	Arranged by Meirion Bowen from The Mask of Time	[5][14]
1987	Triumph	Concert band: brass, woodwind and percussion		Commissioned by The New England Conservatory, Baylor University, University of Michigan, Florida State University, Ohio State University and Cincinnati Conservatory	[5][14]

Juvenilia and unpublished works

The following works are listed by Ian Kemp as (a) works or fragments whose manuscripts have survived and (b) works whose manuscripts are lost but of which there is a record of public performance.^[18]

Date of composition	Title	Musical forces	Notes
1926–27	Arrangements: Bolsters (ballet); "The House that Jack Built"; "Cheerly Men"; "Yang-Tsi-Kiang"; "Three Jovial Huntsmen"	Piano trio
1927	The Undying Fire	Baritone, chorus and orchestra	Text by H. G. Wells
1927–28	The Village Opera: opera in 3 acts	Voices and orchestra	Adaptation of 1729 work by Charles Johnson
1928	Piano Sonata in C minor	Piano
1928–30	String Quartet in F
1928–30	Concerto in D	Flutes, oboe, horns and strings	Manuscript lost
1929	String Quartet in F minor
1929	Piano variations for Dudley Parvin	Piano
1929	Ten variations on a Swiss folksong as harmonised by Beethoven	Piano
1929	Three songs: "Sea Love"; Afternoon Tea; Arracombe Fair	Voice and piano	Poems by Charlotte Mew. Music manuscripts of 'Sea Love' and 'Arracombe Fair' lost.
1930	"Jockey to the Fair": variations	Piano
1930	Overture and incidental music: Don Juan	Orchestra	Play (1925) by James Elroy Flecker. Music manuscript lost
1930	Psalm in C: "The Gateway"	Chorus and orchestra	Text by Christopher Fry
1930	Sonata in E minor		Fragments only
1930–31	Symphonic Movement	Orchestra
1932	String Trio in B-flat		Orchestral version 1932 (fragments only)
1933–34	Symphony in B-flat	Orchestra
1934	Robin Hood (opera)	Voices and orchestra	Libretto by Tippett, Ruth Pennyman and David Ayerst: Performed by an amateur cast at Boosbeck, Yorkshire, in 1934. Some music recycled into Birthday Suite of 1948.[21]
1935	"Miners"	Chorus and piano	Text by Judy Wogan
1937	A Song of Liberty: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell	Chorus and orchestra	Poem by William Blake
1938	Robert of Sicily (Children's opera)	Voices and orchestra	Text by Christopher Fry based on Longfellow[22]
1939	Seven at one Stroke (Children's opera)	Voices and orchestra	Text by Christopher Fry[22] based on "The Valiant Little Tailor", one of Grimms' Fairy Tales