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Music of Sir Michael Tippett in Saint Louis and Baltimore

Dec. 04, 2017

Music of Sir Michael Tippett in Saint Louis and Baltimore

The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra led by David Robertson performs Sir Michael Tippett’s beloved oratorio A Child of Our Time at their New Year’s Eve Celebration on December 31 in Powell Hall. Composed between 1939-1941 during a time of political unrest and widespread social injustice, A Child of Our Time is fashioned in the style of a baroque oratorio. As with his heroic opera, King Priam, the composer created an original libretto for this work with the exception of several well-known spirituals that Tippett interspersed throughout the composition. Similar to the chorales of Bach’s time, the spirituals lend the work a familiar and comforting reference point for listeners. Tippett’s lush orchestration and skilled vocal writing bring the simplicity of these powerful melodies to life. 


(“Go Down, Moses” from A Child of Our Time/Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor)

On December 7, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra led by Nicholas Hersh, performed a Midweek Concert on their “Music for Middle Schools” series. On the program was Tippett’s Suite in D  as well as a semi-staged adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol --a fitting holiday show for young audiences.

Sir Michael Tippett

A Child of Our Time (1939-41)

for SATB soloists, chorus, and orchestra

2.2.ca.2.2.cbsn-4.3.3.0-timp.perc(cym)-str

66’

Suite in D (1978)

for orchestra

2(2pic).2.2.2-4.2.3.1-timp.perc(tub bells, cym, s.d)-hp-str

16’

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