Tippett: A Child of our Time at Music Hills.com

A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 1. The World Turns On Its Dark Side
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 2. Man Has Measured The Heavens
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 3. Is Evil Then Good?
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 4. Now In Each Nation
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 5. When Shall The Userers' City Cease
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 6. I Have No Money For My Bread
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 7. How Can I Cherish My Man In Such Days
A Child Of Our Time: Part I: 8. Steal Away
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 9. A Star Rises In Mid-Winter
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 10. And A Time Came
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 11. Away With Them!
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 12. Where They Could, They Fled
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 13. We Cannot Have Them In Our Empire
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 14. And The Boys Mother Wrote A Letter
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 15. O My Son!
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 16. Nobody Knows The Trouble I See, Lord
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 17. The Boy Becomes Desperate In His Agony
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 18. They Took A Terrible Vengence
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 19. Burn Down Their Houses!
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 20. Men Were Ashamed Of What Was Done
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 21. Go Down, Moses
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 22. My Dreams Are All Shattered
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 23. What Have I Done To You, My Son?
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 24. The Dark Forces Rise Like A Flood
A Child Of Our Time: Part II: 25. O, By And By
A Child Of Our Time: Part III: 26. The Cold Deepens
A Child Of Our Time: Part III: 27. The Soul Of A Man
A Child Of Our Time: Part III: 28. The Word Of Wisdom Are These
A Child Of Our Time: Part III: 29. I Would Now My Shadow My Shadow And My Light
A Child Of Our Time: Part III: 30. Deep River

Music reviews of Tippett: A Child of our Time

Music Review: A Lyrical and Lush Modern Masterwork
Rating: 5 Stars

At the oratio's center is the historically true story of a 17-year-old Polish Jew, Herschel Gryszpan, avenging his father's death at the hands of fascists by shooting a Nazi officer in Paris. (The Germans reacted violently to this perceived insolence, herding Jews to the gas chambers with special zest following the incident.)

That a doomed but noble adolescent would appear at the center of a pederastic composer's best work is wholly predictable, but Tippett, who wrote both the words and music here, doesn't attempt to develop Herschel as a character. Instead, the boy becomes a symbol for the oppressed throughout history.

The simple words of the arias limn their suffering: "I have no money for my bread. I have no gift for my love." This is sung by a lone soprano and then resolves exquisitely into a choral version of the spiritual "Steal Away," which dreams of an escape from a torturous world. As the choir sings, the soprano voice still streaks the group vocal with mellifluous runs. Sublime. Utterly gorgeous.

This rich work also carries us through seasons. Winter is first along with the cold consequences of Herschel's assasination. By the end, it is spring again, and we are on the bank of a "Deep River" greening back into life. Tippett seems to believe in the human spirit and its power the weather atrocities and be reborn. The British composer stretches his gift for lushness and lyricism to the very end of this Bach-inspired composition. "Burn down their houses! Beat in their heads!" are among the many lines whose melodies are so memorable I could sing them to you now.