The central theme of A Child of Our Time is the need for individuals to come to terms with their own 'evil side' rather than projecting it onto an enemy, reflecting Tippett's admiration for Carl Gustav Jung.
Compositional Technique
A Child of Our Time incorporates Negro spirituals, which function similarly to Lutheran chorales in Bach's Passions, commenting on the drama and emphasizing the relevance of the events.
Recording & Production
This unique recording of A Child of Our Time was conducted by the composer himself, Sir Michael Tippett, when he was 85 years old.
Performer Biography
The City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, an unpaid professional body, is one of four choruses run by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a unique arrangement in Great Britain.
Composition History
Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time was inspired by the 1938 'Kristallnacht' pogroms, launched by the Nazis in reprisal for a Polish Jewish refugee shooting a German diplomat in Paris.
Composer Biography
Sir Michael Tippett, one of the most gifted figures in 20th-century British music, was a lifelong pacifist and was imprisoned for three months in 1943 as a conscientious objector.
