Written at the behest of his parents, There Was a Child
is a profoundly impressive work that honours the life of Robert
Pickering. His mother Rosemary writes in the liner-notes that
“Since my childhood, music - especially choral music -
has given my life meaning, so commissioning a piece to celebrate
my son Robert’s life seemed cathartic …” Robert
died in June 1999 while snorkelling in Thailand; he was not
yet 20 years old. Richard’s father had been a part of
Dove’s first opera, Flight, and both he and Rosemary
felt Dove was the best choice for such a commission. One can
only guess at the complicated web of emotions and concerns that
Mr. Dove must have felt in completing this commission. Yet he
has succeeded brilliantly, setting seven different poems with
music that Rosemary says “completely captured Robert’s
spirit”, and how powerfully that spirit comes across in
this fabulous performance from Birmingham.
I am the Song/Birth bursts forth with a powerful fortissimo
chord capped by a cymbal crash, the music propelling itself
forward with boundless energy. Dove’s orchestration, features
pointillist streaks of orchestral colour, and in tandem with
the music’s incessant rhythmic drive, remind one of John
Adams’ Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast
Machine. After a brief orchestral prelude, the multiple
chorus’ enter, first in unison, then in imitative polyphony,
then tossing the melody between the various choral forces. Their
music reaches a climax and quickly winds down for the first
soprano solo. Here is found the performance slightly problematic.
There is no doubting Joan Rodgers’ complete commitment
to the music she sings, but her voice has a pronounced vibrato,
which becomes distracting whenever she moves above the stave.
This movement flows right into the next poem, Childhood,
where there is a beautiful call and response between the soloists
and choirs, the music now a perfect evocation of the words of
calm and peace. Toby Spence sings with greater clarity of diction
than Ms. Rodgers, yet he too tends to develop a large warble
when singing loud. In fact, the solo voices are balanced too
far forward in the sound field, which unfortunately displays
and magnifies even the smallest vocal imperfection.
The next two movements, A Song About Myself and From
all the Jails the Boys and Girls are light-hearted, playful
settings, the former sung with fabulous diction and enthusiasm
by the Children’s Chorus, while the latter again brings
a kaleidoscope of orchestral colour and some virtuosic singing
from the main CBSO Chorus. Over the Fence perfectly captures
the impish temptation to climb the fence to taste the strawberries.
I found myself smiling for the entire movement.
The next movement, All Shod with Steel, sets a different
mood, perhaps expressing the change in moods one begins to experience
in the teenage years, while Romance is a touching description
of the beginning pangs of love and greater awareness of the
world’s darkness. Again, Dove’s orchestration is
masterly - complementing and enhancing the setting of the words,
while never overwhelming the singers. I was often reminded of
Britten’s orchestral writing in the chamber operas and
War Requiem. My intent is not to suggest that Dove is
mimicking Britten, but rather to suggest that Dove’s word-setting,
like Britten’s, is carefully worked out and always sensitive
to the emotional import of the words.
With the final movements, it becomes apparent that we are to
experience not only the joyous, playful spirit of Robert, but
that we must also share in his tragic loss of life. High
Flight (An Airman’s Ecstasy)immediately
establishes a darker, more menacing mood, building to a terrifying
climax at 3:50, followed by the choir’s mournful intoning
of “my tale was heard, and yet it was not told; My fruit
is fall’n, and yet my leaves are green.” It is a
harrowing moment, the tragedy made both overwhelmingly personal
and universal at the same time. The soprano then enters, “Grief
fills the room up of my absent child, lies in his bed, walks
up and down with me.” The choir continues to sing the
music and words of the previous section, as if the child is
still trying to communicate with its grieving mother. The music
grows weaker and more muted, ending with the tolling of a bell.
While the notes make no mention of this, the final movement
seems very much modelled on the latter half of Britten’s
War Requiem. The baritone enters unaccompanied, singing
There was a child went forth every day.Here the
father character creates the moment of catharsis, accepting
the loss, coming to terms with it to move past it. A similar
moment of catharsis happens in Britten’s work, where the
baritone sings “I am the enemy you killed my friend…let
us sleep now. Much like the end of Britten’s great work,
here Dove has the soloists and all the choirs join together
for the first time, as the music finds greater light and repose,
in part by recalling the opening theme of the first movement.
The work’s end is spellbinding, a sense of peaceful acceptance
convincingly found.
The recording itself is very fine, although I would prefer a
greater depth and presence to the bass. This is a large soundstage,
with excellent front-to-back perspective. Full texts are provided,
and the liner-notes also include a brief but articulate note
by the composer. As stated at the beginning of this review,
this is a significant work, one of the most important works
I have heard in the last decade. I was very touched by the music
and the performance. Signum is to be thanked for taking the
initiative to record this performance.
David A. McConnell
see also review by John
Quinn
Detailed Track-List
I am the song/Birth [6:59]
Childhood [4:53]
A Song About Myself [3:17]
From all the Jails the Boys and Girls [2:34]
Over the Fence [2:03]
All shod with steel [3:28]
Romance [4:22]
New Worlds/High Flight [11:32]
There Was a Child [11:46]
Joan Rodgers (soprano); Toby Spence (tenor) 