Tippett: A Child of our Time (Cambridge Music Handbooks)

Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time was written at the beginning of the second world war as an expression of "man's inhumanity to man." This Handbook discusses the significant musical and literary features of this remarkable work within its specific historical, social and stylistic context. Attention is given to the shaping of Tippett's own text as well as its musical representation. Also of importance is the initial critical reception of the work, a reception that defined certain responses that still surround the work today. "Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time was written at the beginning of the second world war as an expression of 'man's inhumanity to man'. It has become one of his most widely known works and one which is seen to symbolise the composer's extra-musical concerns, both political and psychological. This study places these concerns within a wider historical and cultural context while also focusing on specific aspects of Tippett's musical language. Central to this enquiry is Tippett's relationship to the work of T.S. Eliot, a relationship which is seen to condition both the text and its musical representation through Tippett's allusions to specific poetic images within the text and references to historical genres, forms and gestures within the musical dimension. Also of importance is the initial critical reception of the work, a reception which determined responses that still surround the work."--Jacket Frontmatter Acknowledgements (page viii) Note on the score (page ix) Introduction (page 1) 1 Background (page 3) 2 The text (page 8) 3 Origins (page 25) 4 Synopsis - analysis (page 31) 5 Musical languages (page 71) 6 Reception (page 89) 7 Legacy (page 96) Notes (page 101) Bibliography (page 108) Index (page 110)

This is a guide to Tippett's widely known wartime oratorio, A Child of Our Time.

Kenneth Gloag. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 108-109) And Index. People come to pacifism for many reasons.