[2] Curlew River marked a departure in style for the remainder of the composer's creative life, paving the way for such works as Owen Wingrave, Death in Venice and the Third String Quartet.

[3] Mikiko Ishi has done a comparative study of the 'weeping mother' figures in Sumidagawa, Curlew River, and various religious plays from medieval Europe.

[4] Daniel Albright has examined Britten's and Plomer's adaptations of aspects of the Sumidagawa original into the context of their own cultural and religious backgrounds in the creation of Curlew River.

[5] Under Colin Graham's direction,[6] the work was premiered on 13 June 1964 at St Bartholomew's Church, Orford, Suffolk, England, by the English Opera Group.

As they cross the river, the Ferryman tells the story of the shrine: it is the burial place of a boy who arrived the year before with a cruel master who had kidnapped him from his home near the Black Mountains.

At the climactic moment when all the men are chanting together, the voice of the boy (a treble) is heard echoing them, and his spirit appears above the tomb to reassure his mother: At this point, the Madwoman is redeemed and her madness lifts.

Britten depicts the moment with the Madwoman letting out a joyful, melismatic "Amen", the final note of which resolves onto a long-delayed unison with the full cast – a signal of return and acceptance.

With such a small orchestra, Britten does not use the 'sound worlds' that are clearly demonstrated in his War Requiem and A Midsummer Night's Dream, nor the dramatic change in orchestral timbre (with the entry of the celesta and vibraphone, respectively) that accompanies the appearances of Quint in The Turn of the Screw or Tadzio in Death in Venice.