Michael Tippet wrote and composed this moving oratorio during the dark days of the Second World War. It reflects on the experience of oppressed people across the World, with a longing for peace and reconciliation. At the turning point of our week, this concert performance will root our search for justice in the depths of the human soul.
Adrian Boynton writes:
“Cornerstone's contribution to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity celebrations takes place this evening, Sunday, 22nd January, at 7.30pm, when the Cornerstone Chamber Choir, Orchestra and Soloists deliver a special programme featuring Bach's great setting of the Magnificat and Michael Tippett's choral masterpiece 'A Child of our Time'.
The Magnificat is one of the best known and loved songs of the Christian Church and in Bach's hands it receives a most joyful and celebratory setting, with brilliant choral writing and the thrilling sound of high trumpets. There's tenderness and humour too in the beautiful solo movements, enhanced by oboe d'amore and flutes.
Tippett's A Child of our Time is one of the great works of the Twentieth Century. It was inspired by events that affected the composer deeply: the assassination in 1938 of a German diplomat by a young Jewish refugee, and the Nazi government's reaction in the form of a violent progrom against the Jewish population. The work deals with these incidents in the context of oppressed people generally, and carries a strong message of ultimate understanding and reconciliation. Tippett's visionary setting of the Spirituals 'Steal away', 'Nobody knows the trouble I've seen', 'Go down Moses ', 'By and by' and 'Deep River' add special poignancy to this amazing work, which is as relevant today as when it was first composed."