Tippett - A Child of Our Time

There have been a number of fine recordings of this work, foremost of which is that of Colin Davis. (I've never heard the earliest recording, with John Pritchard conducting and the singing of the great Elsie Morison and Richard Lewis.) The composer, though, obviously had something personal to say in his performance of the work. This recording, made in 1991 when Tippett was 86 and previously released on Collins Classics, has an autumnal quality that may partly arise from Tippett's age, but which also emerges from the musical and textual materials themselves. Tempi are rather slow and one familiar with the brilliant Davis recording might, initially, become a bit impatient. But the payoff is that the piece builds and builds to the shattering end, the chorus singing 'Deep River.' Tippett, it turns out, knew what he was doing here. This is not simply an old man's performance but one of great power by the man who created the work fifty years earlier. It is to Naxos's credit that they licensed this performance from Collins, now defunct as a record label, and make it available at superbudget price.

The City of Birmingham Symphony and Chorus perform admirably and the solos, sung by Faye Robinson, Sarah Walker, John Garrison, and John Cheek are all one could ask. This is a wonderful recording well worth its modest asking price.

TT=69:19

Scott Morrison