Sir Arthur Bliss’s Serenade for Baritone and Orchestra (F. 163), was composed in 1929 and first performed on 18 March 1930 at a London concert under the composer’s baton with baritone John Goss as soloist. The cycle lasts approximately 26 minutes and sets six poems—ranging from Elizabethan lyrics to contemporary verse—in a continuous, four-movement sequence.

Bliss’s writing juxtaposes homophonic choral-like passages for the solo voice with richly colored instrumental interludes, allowing the baritone’s intimate declamation to emerge against a transparent symphonic backdrop. Stylistically, the Serenade combines Bliss’s late-Romantic lyricism with neoclassical structural balance. Each movement presents a distinct affect—from the wistful opening to the more solemn central sections—requiring the soloist to sustain long-lined legato and the orchestra to maintain precise ensemble cohesion. The work remains a compelling example of Bliss’s mature vocal-orchestral idiom.