"I want to write for people... . There is something very fresh and unrestrained in the quality of the music produced by amateurs. What annoys me more is the ineptitude of some professionals who don't know their stuff; I have no patience with that." Benjamin Britten

Britten's cantata St Nicolas was indeed written for amateurs, and young ones at that - it was commissioned for the centenary of Lancing College, and performed by choirs from Lancing and another three nearby schools. But it was no nursery piece. Britten himself conducted the premiere, and placed detailed instruction in the score regarding the use of professional players to lead the sections of the orchestra.

But the quality of youthful playfulness which remains, contrasted with a profound seriousness is what makes Saint Nicolas a unique work. The seriousness is primarily allotted to the tenor soloist, and Nicolas' fervour, humanity, and vision are passionately portrayed in this central character. Britten achieves operatic clarity of characterisation in these few arias, tailored to the dramatic gifts of Peter Pears.

Britten also had great fun with the choruses. Nicolas' life story begins with a waltz, which includes a bath scene with the orchestral equivalent of water running out of the tub. Pianos and percussion provide marvellous waves in the storm scene. High voices strike lightning, and choir men are the ship's terrified crew. Three trebles are the 'Pickled Boys', whose mothers lament off-stage, and groups of the choir each tell their favourite story of Nicolas' deeds.

The humility of a great composer writing serious music within the capabilities of ordinary people explains the continuing favour this music finds half a century after its composition.