Benjamin Britten said he aimed to 'restore brilliance, freedom and vitality to the musical setting of the English language'. In fact, as this anthology shows, he took inspiration not only from the great English poets, but from a much wider palette including Rimbaud, Hugo, Verlaine and Michelangelo, always displaying an astonishingly sensitive and sophisticated approach to word setting. The collection features such masterpieces as the Serenade and Nocturne, the haunting Winter Words, the much loved folksong arrangements and the Michelangelo Sonnets and Holy Sonnets of John Donne performed by Peter Pears with the composer at the piano.