Tippett: Five Negro Spirituals from A Child Of Our Time

‘A delectable snap-shot of the Schola Cantorum of Oxford on outstanding form’ (International Record Review)

“Tippett's relationship with the BBC Singers went back almost to the beginning of his career, and he often expressed intense admiration of them. His faith is rewarded here. I don’t think I've ever heard things like the tortuous chromatic writing at the heart of The Weeping Babe come across with such conviction.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2007 *****

“Tippett's choral music makes for a heterogeneous collection on disc: just the sort of programme you would never expect to encounter at a live concert. Signum Classics underlines the heterogeneity by cramming the 19 items together with only a few brief seconds between them. This makes for several jarring shifts of tonality, and seems especially careless since the disc plays for under 63 minutes anyway. Constant use of the pause button is the only solution.
Fortunately, the performances compensate.
The polish and professionalism of the BBC Singers are everywhere apparent, and they bring an imposing tonal weight to such familiar items as the Spirituals from 'A Child of Our Time'. This is a fine account, aided by the lively acoustic of the Temple Church: for once one hardly misses the orchestra in 'Go down, Moses'. For the same reason the absence of boys' voices in the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St John's College, Cambridge, and of a plangent solo countertenor in Lullaby, for the Deller Consort, are less troubling than they might otherwise be.
Stephen Cleobury and the BBC Singers are especially impressive in the weaving lines and dancing rhythms of the madrigals and motets from the 1940s. Even they can do little to clarify the congested textures of the Songs from the BritishIsles, but there are two previously unrecorded items: an arrangement of 'Over the Sea to Skye' weaves the familiar tune in some appealingly offbeat counterpoints, and a hymn-tune written by the atheist Tippett for the Salvation Army proves to be touchingly sincere.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Scarcely time to draw breath but the BBC Singers offer a winning Tippett set.” Gramophone Magazine

“The Finzi Singers are eloquent in the Spirituals, and polished in the British Songs (especially the beguiling 'Early One Morning'). However, it's especially good to have the works which represent early sightings of Tippett's later, less lusciously lyrical style – the Lullaby (with countertenor, reminding us that it was written for the Deller Consort) and the Magnificat and Nuncdimittis: here not only are the intonation and phrasing of the tricky lines supremely confident, but the accompanying organ is recorded with exemplary naturalness. The vocal sound throughout is generally no less successful. There may be almost too full and rich a texture for the linear intricacies of Plebs angelica and The WeepingBabe to make their maximum effect, but there's no lack of exuberance in Dance, ClarionAir and the other secular pieces.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“This release contains temptations that put it well ahead of its rivals” BBC Music Magazine

“the performances here are excellently turned and certainly give a superb impression of the music...those who admire the music of Tippett will almost certainly want the complete box. Those who would just like a sample including some of the composer’s most immediately approachable music will welcome this disc in its own right.” MusicWeb International, August 2012