On 1 November a powerful and moving performance at Glyndebourne of Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time illuminated its relevance to current conflicts and highlighted how children are always the innocent victims of war.
Earlier in the day 100 singers, including myself, took part in an inspiring masterclass led by the Glyndebourne chorus director, Aidan Oliver. He not only guided us through the five African-American spirituals that were the framework of the piece but also took us through Tippett’s life and what inspired him to write it.
Oliver’s enlightening explanations and musical expertise really helped me to understand and focus on the themes when I heard the whole performance later.
Part One: “The world turns on its dark side”
In 1938 Europe was on the brink of war. Disturbed by the rise of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany and by purges in Stalinist Russia, Tippett wanted to compose “a major artistic statement of all that I felt about the state of the world”.
The assassination of a German diplomat that year by a young Jewish refugee profoundly affected Tippett and provided the inspiration for the piece. This incident was the pretext for the terrible events of Kristallnacht, in which Jewish homes, schools and businesses were attacked and 30,000 Jewish men were incarcerated in concentration camps.
On the day that Britain declared war against Germany, 3 September 1939, Tippett started to write his oratorio. As he composed each section, he hid it in a range of secret places in case his home was destroyed by bombing. He completed the composition in 1941.
Part One reflects the darkness of the times, but one of its strengths is that, though based in real events, Tippett created a wider message about oppressed people that could speak to those of all faiths and none.
Part Two: “We have no refuge”
In the second part, the ‘child of our time’ appears, unnamed to emphasise his universality. An unspecified act of violence gives rise to terrible retribution, where he is the scapegoat. Events are narrated by the bass soloist, with tenor and soprano soloists representing the boy and his mother, while the chorus become both persecutors and the persecuted.
Listening to the dramatic and, at times, terrifying choruses, it was hard not to link the words to present-day events in Israel and Gaza: the terrible Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, followed by the horrendous bombardment of Gaza that still continues, with over 40,000 casualties, nearly half of them children. Underlining this parallel, a black-and-white image of a child sitting in the midst of the rubble of war was projected on to a backdrop.
But some of the words – “Burn down their houses, beat in their heads” – also made me think closer to home of the recent anti-immigration riots in Britain. Far-right groups, fuelled by false rumours about the perpetrator of an attack in Southport, where three girls were killed, embarked on horrific racist attacks, arson and looting, in which hotels housing asylum seekers were attacked and nearly set on fire.
In this dark part of the piece Tippett was emphasising a wider sense of inhumanity across time and place, which certainly came over in the performance.
Part Three: “I would know my shadow and my light”
Tippett was very influenced by Jung’s philosophy and, just before writing the oratorio, had gone through a period of Jungian psychoanalysis. These ideas are reflected in the final part, where he sought to represent reconciliation. The four soloists sing about “abiding hope”: winter turning to spring and darkness to light – an uplifting moment. The final spiritual, ‘Deep River’, is a song of hope and longing, “expressing a desire for peace and freedom”.
Throughout the work, the spirituals “provide a pathway through the dramatic narrative”, expressing sorrow, anger and hope. Originating as slave songs in 19th-century America, Tippett chose them “as carrying an emotional significance … representing the oppressed everywhere”. It was very emotional both to sing them during the master class and to hear them later.
A lifelong pacifist, Tippett was briefly imprisoned in 1943 after registering as a conscientious objector. After his release, he was encouraged to arrange the oratorio’s first performance, which took place in March 1944, to great acclaim. Music critic William Glock called it “the most moving and important work by an English composer for many years”.
A profound and dramatic piece, A Child of Our Time was beautifully performed by the four soloists, Glyndebourne Sinfonia and Chorus, brilliantly conducted by Adam Hickox. It’s a performance that will stay with me for a long time.
With particular thanks to Aidan Oliver
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