| Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings | |
|---|---|
| Song cycle by Benjamin Britten | |
 Britten, c. 1968 | |
| Opus | 31 |
| Text | Charles Cotton, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, William Blake, anonymous, Ben Jonson, John Keats |
| Language | English |
| Dedication | Edward Sackville-West |
| Duration | about 20–25 minutes |
| Movements | 8 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 5 October 1943 |
| Location | Wigmore Hall, London |
| Conductor | Walter Goehr |
| Performers | Peter Pears (tenor) Dennis Brain (horn) |
The Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31, is a song cycle written in 1943 by Benjamin Britten for tenor, solo horn and a string orchestra. Composed during the Second World War at the request of the horn player Dennis Brain, it is a setting of a selection of six poems by English poets on the subject of night, including both its calm and its sinister aspects. The poets Britten chose to set for the Serenade range from an anonymous 15th-century writer to poets from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Britten's domestic partner – the tenor Peter Pears – and Brain were the soloists at the first performance. They later recorded the work, which has received subsequent recordings by tenors, horn players, orchestras and conductors from Britain, continental Europe, America and Australia.