Cry of Conscience From Battles Past
Reviews
11-Feb-2012
Cry of Conscience From Battles Past
By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER
To be a gay atheist remains almost as marginalizing in many societies today as it was for Michael Tippett (1905-98), the British composer and pacifist who began composing “A Child of Our Time” the day Britain declared war on Germany in 1939.
Tippett’s inspiration for his oratorio, an ode against violence and bigotry, was a Polish Jewish teenager, Herschel Grynszpan. After learning that his family had been deported, Grynszpan fatally shot a German diplomat, a pretext the Nazis used to justify Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass.” For Tippett the boy symbolized the plight of the persecuted individual who reacts with violence against an unbearable situation.
James Bagwell conducted the excellent Collegiate Chorale and the American Symphony Orchestra in a stirring performance of the work on Friday evening at Carnegie Hall, with the stellar soprano Nicole Cabell as a soloist.
Tippett, who wrote the libretto himself, used Handel’s “Messiah” as the model for this three-part oratorio. The first section explores the oppression of Jews and other minorities; the second presents the tale of a young man’s disastrous search for justice; and the third considers the possible moral conclusions. As Bach did in his Passions, Tippett used arias, recitatives and choruses to carry the story, with a male soloist as narrator.
The most moving moments arise from his use of black American spirituals like “Steal Away” and “Nobody Knows” as modern equivalents to Bach’s chorales. Ms. Cabell, who has made the oratorio a signature work, was the standout among the four soloists, singing with an alluring, honeyed voice and expressive commitment to text. The tenor Russell Thomas and the bass-baritone John Relyea sang well though less movingly. The mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson often had trouble projecting above the orchestra and chorus, which both performed vividly here, the chorus singing with soulful languor in the gospel interludes.
The concert opened with Bruckner’s majestic Te Deum, a hymn of praise to God. Bruckner’s five-movement piece for orchestra, chorus and soloists is longer than most Te Deums but fleeting by the standards of a man known for his gargantuan symphonies.
Bruckner said that when it was time to meet his maker, he would “show him the score of my Te Deum, and he may judge me accordingly.” Any deity would surely be happy with such a rousing, heartfelt homage, given a full-blooded interpretation here.
Tippett’s inspiration for his oratorio, an ode against violence and bigotry, was a Polish Jewish teenager, Herschel Grynszpan. After learning that his family had been deported, Grynszpan fatally shot a German diplomat, a pretext the Nazis used to justify Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass.” For Tippett the boy symbolized the plight of the persecuted individual who reacts with violence against an unbearable situation.
James Bagwell conducted the excellent Collegiate Chorale and the American Symphony Orchestra in a stirring performance of the work on Friday evening at Carnegie Hall, with the stellar soprano Nicole Cabell as a soloist.
Tippett, who wrote the libretto himself, used Handel’s “Messiah” as the model for this three-part oratorio. The first section explores the oppression of Jews and other minorities; the second presents the tale of a young man’s disastrous search for justice; and the third considers the possible moral conclusions. As Bach did in his Passions, Tippett used arias, recitatives and choruses to carry the story, with a male soloist as narrator.
The most moving moments arise from his use of black American spirituals like “Steal Away” and “Nobody Knows” as modern equivalents to Bach’s chorales. Ms. Cabell, who has made the oratorio a signature work, was the standout among the four soloists, singing with an alluring, honeyed voice and expressive commitment to text. The tenor Russell Thomas and the bass-baritone John Relyea sang well though less movingly. The mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson often had trouble projecting above the orchestra and chorus, which both performed vividly here, the chorus singing with soulful languor in the gospel interludes.
The concert opened with Bruckner’s majestic Te Deum, a hymn of praise to God. Bruckner’s five-movement piece for orchestra, chorus and soloists is longer than most Te Deums but fleeting by the standards of a man known for his gargantuan symphonies.
Bruckner said that when it was time to meet his maker, he would “show him the score of my Te Deum, and he may judge me accordingly.” Any deity would surely be happy with such a rousing, heartfelt homage, given a full-blooded interpretation here.
Click here to read this review on the NYT site.