ORATORIO: A Child of Our Time (1939-41) by Michael Tippett

Vocal textures

• Solo parts: soprano (mother), solo (son), alto (aunt), bass (uncle)
• Interaction between chorus 1 (persecutors) & chorus 2 (persecuted): call & response, imitation, unison octaves
• Bar 41: monophonic- chorus 2 only
• SA and TB in 3rds
• Bass solo: recitative-like, declamatory, narrator, tonally ambiguous

Vocal lines

• Short phrases reflect the urgency of the text ("Away with them!")
• Falling semitonal sighs ("Why")
• Syllabic e.g. bars 66-83
• Melisma and rising figure in tenor solo (son) "Mother!"
• Overlapping of choirs = increased desperation of victims / fury of mob

Harmony & Tonality

• C# minor, with added 2nds, 4ths, 6ths and 7ths (b40-54)
• Extended plagal cadence- resignation 
• Open 5ths on C# end on octave G#s (b40-54)
• C major (b66-83)- occasional flattened 7th (e.g. b69) gives Mixolydian feel 
• Soprano solo simple harmony: I-IV-V
• Falling chromatics: tenor solo, brass (during alto solo)
• Bass solo moves towards Eb minor
• Three simple string chords to end: Dm7, Fm7, G7

Instrumentation

• Legato string accompaniment, clarinet outlines vocal part of soprano solo
• Viola doubles alto solo, trombone doubles bass solo
• Sighing quaver figure in oboe then later clarinet (bars 107-114) 
• Imitative brass adds to urgency (during 2nd tenor solo)

• A young Polish Jew left desperate by the persecution of his family and race in general by the Nazis shot a junior diplomat at the German embassy.
• 3 days later the Germans killed over 90 Jews, burned down synagogues and arrested over 30,000 more- Crystal Night
• Walks through some of the key events in Grynszpan's story
• Not a detailed documentary of the events themselves, Tippett addresses the human conditions surrounding the events: brutality, alienation, violence, resilience, passion, nurturing
• Avoids reference to specific groups- speaks universally- blames no one
• Draws on the telling of Christ's life and crucifiction in Handel's Messiah- 3 parts like it
• Interested in psychology (Jung's shadow and light), refers to seasons at the start of each of the three sections
• Other influences come from African slaves (N America)- uses spirituals
• Roles of soloists and chorus are not operatic, nobody stays in character throughout although traits are identified
• Near the end of the WHOLE work the singers come together on the words "Shadow and light" allowing for resolution