Bridge and Britten, Britten and Bridge

Britten and Bridge have been bracketed together since Britten's tribute to his teacher in his fiftieth-birthday reminiscence. It was largely through Britten's endeavours that Bridge's name was kept alive during the forties and fifties, through the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, while Britten's programming of Bridge's music in Aldeburgh Festival concerts and the publication of select late scores by his own publisher, Faber Music, led the revival of interest in the music. Mark Amos suggests that 'an unhooking from Britten and his inherent cultural baggage is now essential if we are to understand Bridge on his own terms'. The contention in this essay, though, is that there is still something to be learned about Bridge through Britten, through what Britten writes about him, and especially through an examination of the music they both composed during and immediately after Britten's apprenticeship.