 One of their early performances together after their return was the public premiere of the Michelangelo cycle at the Wigmore Hall in September 1942.Their recording of the work for HMV was released in February 1943.Britten was by now so obsessed with the sound of Pears's "heavenly voice" that he went out of his way to discourage sopranos from singing his earlier song cycle, "Les Illuminations", though it had been specifically composed for the soprano voice.