Object of the week: The film that launched Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra (1946) is a remarkable and enduring piece of educational cinema. This 20-minute production beautifully unpacks the symphony orchestra, making the complex world of classical music accessible to all. It is a powerful testament to the ethos of the documentary film remit to educate and inspire.

The core of this film’s appeal is rooted in the carefully-thought-out structure of Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a score specially commissioned for this film by the Crown Film Unit. The film visually mirrors the music’s format, beginning with a striking performance of the main theme – a robust melody based around the work of 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell – played by the full orchestra.

Crucially, the music used is not a simple Purcell piece; it is Britten’s own work, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell. Britten took the plain, dignified theme from Purcell’s suite Abdelazer and used it as the foundation for his own original composition. The film then follows this musical structure as it is played by each of the four orchestral families: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. As the music embarks on Britten’s variations, the camera isolates individual instruments, providing close-up views that reveal their unique mechanics, sounds, and the specific techniques of the musicians playing them.

Musical direction is expertly handled by the charismatic Sir Malcolm Sargent, who conducts the London Symphony Orchestra with his signature flair and provides a warm, insightful narration. Of course, the genius of Britten’s score is the film’s heartbeat.

The film was commissioned by the Ministry of Education as an instructional tool for schools in post-war Britain, part of a new push for music and the arts in the education curriculum. Indeed, Instruments of the Orchestra was slated to be the first of three films in the series for director Muir Mathieson. The goal was clear: to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of music and the arts.

Mathieson was a colossal figure in British film music, serving as the musical director for hundreds of films throughout his prolific career. However, Instruments of the Orchestra is almost unique in his extensive filmography; here, he is credited not just for music but as the director of the film itself. This role allowed him to blend his cinematic experience with his profound musical expertise, ensuring that the visual narrative was as clear and engaging as the subject depicted. 

Mathieson’s second foray in the series, Steps of the Ballet, was completed in 1948 and is set to the music of Arthur Benjamin with a focus on the Sadler’s Wells Ballet, presented by Robert Helpmann. The proposed third film of the trilogy, to be called Voices of the Opera, remained only an idea.

Instruments of the Orchestra, as the Young Person’s Guide…, has since fostered hundreds of musical students into their field and has been updated and performed numerous times at festivals and the Proms. It remains an essential textbook for all young, aspiring audiences.

Produced with the support of the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.