Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio
Encyclopedia
Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio is Paul McCartney
's first official foray into classical music and was released in 1991. Composed in collaboration with Carl Davis
to commemorate The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
's 150th anniversary, the project received a large amount of media attention upon its unveiling in June 1991.
Broken up into eight separate movements, the story of the oratorio loosely follows McCartney's own lifeline, with the main character, Shanty, who is born in 1942 in Liverpool, raised to believe that "being born where you are born carries with it certain responsibilities". After his school days where he often "sagged off" (Liverpool
slang
for skipping class), Shanty began working and meets his future bride, Mary Dee. Following the death of his father, Shanty and Mary Dee are married and are forced to deal with the rigours of balancing a happy marriage and their careers. Amid a quarrel, Mary Dee reveals that she is pregnant and after surviving a nearly fatal accident, gives birth to their son. Thus, the cycle of life in Liverpool carries on.
This recording was captured at the oratorio's premiere at Liverpool Cathedral
with McCartney in attendance and features noted professional classical singers Kiri Te Kanawa
, Jerry Hadley
, Sally Burgess
and Willard White
re-enacting the roles in the oratorio.
The commercial reaction for the work, predictably, was strong, with the oratorio spending many weeks atop the classical charts worldwide, and even charting at #177 in regular album chart in the US. Critical reaction was less positive, the virtually unanimous verdict being that the work, while attractive, was simplistic, overlong and, given its aspirations, insubstantial.
and Carl Davis
. The first four movements are on disc one, the second four on disc two.
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
's first official foray into classical music and was released in 1991. Composed in collaboration with Carl Davis
Carl Davis
Carl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....
to commemorate The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society is a society based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, that organises concerts and other events mainly in the field of classical music. The society is the second oldest of its type in the United Kingdom and its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic...
's 150th anniversary, the project received a large amount of media attention upon its unveiling in June 1991.
Broken up into eight separate movements, the story of the oratorio loosely follows McCartney's own lifeline, with the main character, Shanty, who is born in 1942 in Liverpool, raised to believe that "being born where you are born carries with it certain responsibilities". After his school days where he often "sagged off" (Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
slang
Scouse
Scouse is an accent and dialect of English found primarily in the Metropolitan county of Merseyside, and closely associated with the city of Liverpool and the adjoining urban areas such as the boroughs of south Sefton, Knowsley and the Wirral...
for skipping class), Shanty began working and meets his future bride, Mary Dee. Following the death of his father, Shanty and Mary Dee are married and are forced to deal with the rigours of balancing a happy marriage and their careers. Amid a quarrel, Mary Dee reveals that she is pregnant and after surviving a nearly fatal accident, gives birth to their son. Thus, the cycle of life in Liverpool carries on.
This recording was captured at the oratorio's premiere at Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
with McCartney in attendance and features noted professional classical singers Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
, Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
, Sally Burgess
Sally Burgess
Sally Burgess FRCM is a South Africa-born British operatic lyric mezzo-soprano, opera director, and educator. She has been a Fellow and Professor of Vocal Studies at the Royal College of Music since 2004, as well as teaching stagecraft...
and Willard White
Willard White
Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE is a Jamaican-born British bass-baritone.-Early life:He was born into a poor but supportive Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole...
re-enacting the roles in the oratorio.
The commercial reaction for the work, predictably, was strong, with the oratorio spending many weeks atop the classical charts worldwide, and even charting at #177 in regular album chart in the US. Critical reaction was less positive, the virtually unanimous verdict being that the work, while attractive, was simplistic, overlong and, given its aspirations, insubstantial.
Track listing
All pieces by Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Carl Davis
Carl Davis
Carl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....
. The first four movements are on disc one, the second four on disc two.
War
- Andante (Orchestra) – 2:02
- 'Non nobis solum' – 2:35
- 'The Air Raid Siren Slices Through...' (Shanty) – 2:09
- 'Oh Will It All End Here?' (Shanty) – 1:36
- 'Mother And Father Holding Their Child' – 1:16
School
- 'We're Here In School Today To Get A Perfect Education' – 2:10
- 'Walk In Single File Out Of The Classroom' (Headmaster) – 1:02
- 'Settle Down' – 0:40
- 'Kept In Confusion' (Shanty) – 2:35
- 'I'll Always Be Here' (Mary Dee) – 1:35
- 'Boys, This Is Your Teacher' (Headmaster, Miss Inkley) – 1:23
- 'Tres conejos' (Miss Inkley, Headmaster, Shanty) – 1:50
- 'Not For Ourselves' (Headmaster, Miss Inkley, Shanty) – 0:55
Crypt
- 'And So It Was That I Had Grown' (Shanty) – 0:48
- Dance – 1:44
- 'I Used To Come Here When This Place Was A Crypt' (Shanty, Preacher) – 1:58
- 'Here Now' (Shanty) – 0:46
- 'I'll Always Be Here' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 2:24
- 'Now's The Time To Tell Him' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 2:21
Father
- Andante Lamentoso – 2:59
- 'O Father, You Have Given...' (Chief Mourner) – 1:05
- '(Ah)' – 1:13
- 'Hey, Wait A Minute' (Shanty) – 1:44
- 'Father, Father, Father' (Shanty, Chief Mourner) – 4:12
Wedding
- Andante Amoroso - 'I Know I Should Be Glad Of This' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 5:42
- 'Father, Hear Our Humble Voices' (Preacher) – 1:13
- 'Hosanna, Hosanna' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 1:40
Work
- Allegro Energico – 1:20
- 'Working Women At The Top' (Mary Dee) – 2:52
- Violin Solo – 5:05
- 'Did I Sign The Letter...' (Mary Dee) – 1:34
- Tempo I – 0:30
- 'When You Ask A Working Man' (Shanty, Mr. Dingle) – 1:34
- 'Let's Find Ourselves A Little Hostelry' (Mr. Dingle) – 2:04
Crises
- Allegro Molto – 0:54
- 'The World You're Coming Into' (Mary Dee) – 2:28
- Tempo I – 0:45
- 'Where's My Dinner?' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 2:40
- 'Let's Not Argue' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 0:31
- 'I'm Not A Slave' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 0:52
- 'Right! That's It!' (Mary Dee) – 0:49
- 'Stop. Wait.' – 2:03
- 'Do You Know Who You Are...' (Nurse) – 3:36
- 'Ghosts Of The Past Left Behind' (Nurse, Shanty, Mary Dee) – 3:08
- 'Do We Live In A World...' (Mary Dee, Nurse, Shanty) – 3:18
Peace
- 'And So It Was That You Were Born' (Shanty) – 1:22
- 'God Is Good' – 1:26
- 'What People Want Is A Family Life' (Preacher) – 2:17
- 'Dad's In The Garden' (Nurse, Mary Dee, Preacher, Shanty) – 3:13
- 'So On And On The Story Goes' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 1:06
Personnel
- Royal Liverpool Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society is a society based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, that organises concerts and other events mainly in the field of classical music. The society is the second oldest of its type in the United Kingdom and its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic...
– orchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus... - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir – chorusChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
- Liverpool Cathedral Choiristers – chorus
- Carl DavisCarl DavisCarl Davis CBE is an American born conductor and composer who has made his home in the UK since 1961. In 1970 he married the English actress Jean Boht....
– conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Ian TraceyIan Tracey (organist)-Previous work:Ian Tracey started to study the organ at Liverpool Cathedral under the cathedral organist at the time, Noel Rawsthorne. He then continued his studies at Trinity College, London before gaining further experience in Paris under André Isoir and Jean Langlais. In 1980 he took over from...
– conductor - Kiri Te KanawaKiri Te KanawaDame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
– sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... - Jerry HadleyJerry HadleyJerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
– tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... - Sally Burgess – mezzo-sopranoMezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
- Willard WhiteWillard WhiteSir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE is a Jamaican-born British bass-baritone.-Early life:He was born into a poor but supportive Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole...
– bass