Opera and other dramatised works

• Punch and Judy
  Punch and Judy (opera)
  Punch and Judy is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle and a libretto by Stephen Pruslin, based on the puppet figures of the same names. Birtwistle wrote the score from 1966 to 1967. The opera was first performed at the Aldeburgh Festival, which had commissioned the work, on 8 June 1968,...
  
  , A tragical comedy or comical tragedy in 1 act (1966–67)
• Down by the Greenwood Side, A Dramatic Pastoral (1968–69)
• The Innocents
  The Innocents (play)
  The Innocents is a 1976 play written by William Archiblad. The show opened at the Morosco Theatre on October 21, 1976 and closed on October 30, 1976 after 12 performances.-Setting:...
  
  (play by William Archiblad), incidental music (1976)
• Pulse Field, Frames, Pulse and Interruptions — improvised ballet, for 6 dancers and 9 musicians (1977)
• Bow Down, Improvised music theatre, for 5 actors and 4 musicians (1977)
• The Mask of Orpheus
  The Mask of Orpheus
  The Mask of Orpheus is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle and a libretto by Peter Zinovieff. It was premiered in London at the English National Opera on May 21, 1986 to great critical acclaim. A recorded version conducted by Andrew Davis and Martyn Brabbins has also received good reviews...
  
  , Lyric Tragedy in 3 acts (1973–84)
• Yan Tan Tethera
  Yan Tan Tethera (opera)
  Yan Tan Tethera is a chamber opera by the English composer Harrison Birtwistle with a libretto by the poet Tony Harrison, based on a supernatural folk tale about two shepherds, their sheep, and the Devil. It was first performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 7 August 1986...
  
  , A Mechanical Pastoral (1986)
• Gawain
  Gawain (opera)
  Gawain is an opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by David Harsent. The story is based on the Middle English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The opera was a commission from the Royal Opera House, London, where it was first performed on 30 May 1991. Rhian Samuel has...
  
  , Opera in 2 acts, (1990–91, revised 1994 & 1999)
• The Second Mrs Kong
  The Second Mrs Kong
  The Second Mrs Kong is an opera in two acts, with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by Russell Hoban. Glyndebourne Touring Opera first staged the opera on 24 October 1994. The cast included Philip Langridge, Helen Field and Michael Chance. Tom Cairns designed and directed the...
  
  , Opera in 2 acts (1993–94)
• The Last Supper
  The Last Supper (opera)
  The Last Supper is an opera with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle to an English and Latin libretto by Robin Blaser. Birtwistle composed the music over the period written in 1998-1999. The world premiere was given by the Berlin State Opera on 18 April 2000, with the production directed by Martin...
  
  , Opera in 1 act (1998–1999)
• The Io Passion
  The Io Passion
  The Io Passion is a chamber opera with music by Harrison Birtwistle and a libretto in English by Stephen Plaice. It was commissioned jointly by the Aldeburgh Festival, Almeida Opera and the Bregenz Festival in Austria.-Performance History:...
  
  , Chamber Opera (2003-4)
• The Minotaur
  The Minotaur (opera)
  The Minotaur is an opera in two acts, with 13 scenes by English composer Harrison Birtwistle to a libretto by poet David Harsent, commissioned by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London. The work premiered at the Royal Opera House on April 15, 2008 and was shown on BBC2 television on June 7,...
  
  , Opera (2005–07)
• The Corridor, Scena for two voices and ensemble (2008-9)

Orchestra

• Chorales, for orchestra (1960–63)
• Nomos, for 4 amplified instruments and orchestra (1967–68)
• The Triumph of Time, for orchestra (1971–72)
• Melencolia I, for clarinet, harp and 2 string orchestras (1976)
• Earth Dances, for orchestra (1985–86)
• Endless Parade, for trumpet, strings and vibraphone (1986–87)
• Machaut à ma manière, for orchestra (1988)
• Gawain's Journey, for orchestra (1991)
• Antiphonies, for piano and orchestra (1992)
• The Cry of Anubis, for tuba and orchestra (1994)
• Panic, for alto saxophone, jazz drum kit and orchestra (1995)
• Exody, for orchestra (1997)
• Sonance Severance 2000, for orchestra (1999)
• The Shadow of Night, for orchestra (2001)
• Night’s Black Bird, for orchestra (2004)

• The World is Discovered, 6 Instrumental Movements after Heinrich Isaac, for chamber ensemble (1961)
• 3 Movements with Fanfares, for chamber orchestra (1964)
• Tragoedia, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, harp and string quartet (1965)
• Chorale from a Toy Shop, two versions for different chamber ensembles (1967)
• Verses for Ensembles, for 3 instrumental ensembles (1968–69)
• Some Petals from my Twickenham Herbarium, for piccolo, clarinet in Bb, glockenspiel, piano, violin and violoncello (1969)
• An Imaginary Landscape, for brass, percussion and double basses (1971)
• Tombeau in memoriam Igor Stravinsky, for flute, clarinet, harp and string quartet (1971)
• Carmen Arcadiae Mechanicae Perpetuum, for chamber ensemble or orchestra (1977–1978)
• Grimethorpe Aria, for brass band (1973)
• For O, for O, the Hobby-Horse is Forgot, Ceremony, for 6 percussionists (1976)
• Silbury Air
  Silbury Air
  Silbury Air is a musical composition for chamber ensemble by the English composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle.Written in 1977 and revised in 2003, it takes as its inspiration the prehistoric mound of Silbury Hill in Wiltshire, with its connotations of the spiritual and mysterious: the precise function...
  
  , for chamber ensemble (1977)
• Secret Theatre, for chamber ensemble (1984)
• Salford Toccata, for brass band (1989)
• Ritual Fragment, for chamber orchestra (1990)
• Fanfare for Glyndebourne, for brass ensemble and timpani (1994)
• Slow Frieze, for piano and ensemble (1996)
• Bach Measures, for chamber ensemble (1996)
• Placid Mobile, for 36 trumpets (1998)
• The Silk House Tattoo, for two trumpets and side drums (1998)
• Sonance 2000, for brass ensemble (1999)
• 17 Tate Riffs, for ensemble (2000)
• Fanfare, for brass and percussion (2001)
• Tenebrae David, for brass ensemble (2001)
• Theseus Game, for large ensemble with two conductors (2002)
• The Io Passion: Nocturnes, for clarinet and string quartet (2004)
• Cantus Iambeus, for thirteen instruments (2005)

• Antiphonies from the Moonkeeper, for trumpet (1985)
• Berceuse de Jeanne, for piano (unpublished)
• Refrains and Choruses, for wind quintet (1957)
• Précis, for piano (1960)
• Verses, for clarinet and piano (1965)
• Linoi, for clarinet in A and piano (1968)
• 8 Lessons for Keyboards (unpublished; premiered in 1970)
• Dinah and Nick's Love Song, for 3 melody instruments and harp (1970)
• Sad Song, for piano (1971)
• Clarinet Quintet, for clarinet and string quartet (1980)
• Pulse Sampler, for oboe and claves (1981)
• Duets for Storab, for 2 flutes (1983)
• Hector's Dawn, for piano (1987)
• An Interrupted Endless Melody, for oboe and piano (1991, B&H)
• 9 Movements, for string quartet (1991–1996)
• 5 Distances for 5 Instruments, for flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat, bassoon and horn in F (1992)
• Hoquetus Petrus, for two flutes and piccolo trumpet (1995)
• Harrison’s Clocks, for piano (1997–98)
• Ostinato with Melody, for piano (2000)
• The Axe Manual, for piano and percussion (2000)
• Betty Freedman: Her Tango, for piano (2000)
• Saraband, for piano (2001)
• Crowd, for solo harp (2005)
• Tree of Strings, for string quartet (2008)

• Monody for Corpus Christi, for soprano, flute, violin and horn (1959)
• Entr'actes and Sappho Fragments, for soprano and instruments (1964)
• Carmen Paschale, Motet, for choir and organ (1965)
• Ring a Dumb Carillon, for soprano (+ susp cyms), clarinet in Bb and percussion (1964–65)
• Cantata, for soprano and instruments (1969)
• Nenia: The Death of Orpheus, for soprano, 3 bass clarinets, crotales and piano (1970)
• Meridian, for mezzosoprano, 2 three-part women's’ choirs and instruments (1970–71)
• Prologue, for tenor and 7 instruments (1971)
• La Plage: 8 Arias of Remembrance, for soprano and 5 instruments (1972)
• The Fields of Sorrow, for 2 sopranos, 8-part choir and instruments (1972)
• Epilogue, "Full fathom five", for baritone, horn, 4 trombones and 6 tam-tam (1972)
• Narration: A Description of the Passing of a Year, for a cappella chorus (1963)
• … agm …, for 16 voices and 3 instrumental ensembles (1978–1979)
• On the Sheer Threshold of the Night, Madrigal, for 4 soloists and 12-voice choir (1980)
• Deowa, for soprano and clarinet in Bb (1983)
• Songs by Myself, for soprano and chamber ensemble (1984)
• Words Overheard, for soprano and chamber orchestra (1985)
• 4 Songs of Autumn, for soprano and string quartet (1988)
• An die Musik', for soprano and chamber ensemble (1988)
• 4 Poems by Jaan Kaplinski, for soprano and 13 instruments (1991)
• 9 Settings of Celan (may be performed as a set or individually) for soprano, 2 clarinets, viola, violoncello and contrabass (1989–96)
• Pulse Shadows (the 9 Movements for string quartet interleaved with the 9 Settings of Celan) (1989–96)
• 9 Settings of Lorine Niedecker, for soprano and instrument, not piano (1998–2000)
• Love Cries, from the opera The Second Mrs. Kong, for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and orchestra (1999)
• Three Latin Motets, from The Last Supper, for unaccompanied choir (1999)
• The Woman and the Hare, for soprano, reciter and ensemble (1999)
• The Gleam, Christmas Carol, for unaccompanied choir (2003)
• The Ring Dance of the Nazarene, for baritone, tombak, choir and ensemble (2003)
• 3 Arias by Bach, for soprano, countertenor and chamber ensemble (2003–04)
• 26 Orpheus Elegies, for oboe, harp and countertenor (2003–04)
• 3 Brendel Settings, for baritone and orchestra (2000–04)
• Today Too, for tenor, flute and guitar (2004)
• Neruda Madrigals, for chorus and ensemble (2004–05)
• The Mouse Felt…, for baritone and piano (2005)
• Song of Myself, for baritone, double bass and percussion (2006)