''Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio'' is a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Carl Davis Carl Davis (October 28, 1936 – August 3, 2023) was an American-born British conductor and composer. He wrote music for more than 100 television programmes, notably the landmark ITV series '' The World at War'' (1973) and BBC's '' Pride and P ...

, released in 1991. It is McCartney's first major foray into classical music. Composed in collaboration with

to commemorate the

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...

's 150th anniversary, the project received media attention upon its unveiling in June 1991.

Recording

This recording was captured at the

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

dress rehearsal The dress rehearsal is a full-scale rehearsal shortly before the first performance where the actors and/or musicians perform every detail of the performance. Dress rehearsal is often the final rehearsal before the premiere A premiere, also ...

and premiere at

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Liverpool and is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, diocese of Liverpool. The church may be formally re ...

with McCartney in attendance and features noted professional classical singers

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December ...

Jerry Hadley Jerry Hadley (June 16, 1952 – July 18, 2007) was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy Awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of ''Jenůfa'' (2004 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording), ''Susannah'' (1995 Grammy Awar ...

, Sally Burgess and

Willard White Sir Willard Wentworth White, Order of Merit (Jamaica), OM, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone. Early life White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingst ...

re-enacting the roles in the oratorio. The recording was engineered by John Timperley.

Music and story

Consisting of eight movements, the story of the oratorio loosely follows McCartney's own lifeline, with the main character, Shanty, who is born in 1942 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, raised to believe that "being born where you were born carries with it certain responsibilities". After his school days where he often "sagged off" (Liverpool

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

for skipping class), Shanty begins 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.

Performance history

The piece has been performed in concert on several occasions following the 28 June 1991 premiere in Liverpool. The American premiere took place on 18 November 1991, at Carnegie Hall and featured Carl Davis conducting the Liverpool Philharmonic and soloists

Barbara Bonney Barbara Bonney (born April 14, 1956) is an American soprano. She is associated with lyric soprano roles in operas by Mozart and Richard Strauss as well as lieder performances. Early life Bonney was born in Montclair, New Jersey. As a child she p ...

, Sally Burgess,

, and

. On 24 Oct 1992, the work was presented at the Orange County Performing Arts Center under the baton of William Hall.

Cincinnati Opera Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second-oldest opera company in the United States (after the New York Metropolitan Opera). Beginning with its first season in 1920, Cincinnati Opera has produced opera ...

presented a fully-staged production of the oratorio in July 2024, directed by Caroline Clegg with the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

conducted by

Joseph Young __NOTOC__Joseph Young (April 7, 1797 – July 16, 1881) was an early convert to the Latter Day Saint movement and was a missionary and longtime general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He was an elder br ...

Reception

The commercial reaction for the work was strong, with the oratorio spending many weeks atop the classical charts worldwide, and even charting at number 177 in regular album chart in the US. Critical reaction was mixed.

Allan Kozinn Allan Kozinn (born July 28, 1954) is an American journalist, music critic, and teacher. Kozinn received bachelor's degrees in music and journalism from Syracuse University in 1976. He began freelancing as a critic and music feature writer for ''T ...

, reviewing the Liverpool premiere for the New York Times in June 1991, described the work as "a richly melodic, lavishly orchestrated piece about the loss and reclamation of innocence, love and faith." In particular, Kozinn noted "an exquisite soprano aria" and "a five-minute violin meditation that suggests Mr. McCartney could be a superb concerto composer." Some observed that the work, while attractive, was simplistic, overlong and, given its aspirations, insubstantial.''Gramophone'' review of recording
/ref>

Track listing

All pieces by

and

. The first four movements are on CD disc one, the second four on disc two.

Disc one

Side one

;Movement I – 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 ;Movement II – 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

Side two

;Movement III – 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 ;Movement IV – 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

Disc two

Side three

;Movement V – 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 ;Movement VI – 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

Side four

;Movement VII – 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 ;Movement VIII – 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' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 1:06

Personnel

– orchestra *Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir –

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

*Liverpool Cathedral Choiristers – chorus *

– conductor *

Ian Tracey Ian Tracey (born June 26, 1964) is a Canadian actor.Ian Tracey's bio
at www.northernstars.ca Ove ...

– conductor *

–

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

: Mary Dee *

–

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

: Shanty * Sally Burgess –

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

: Miss Inkley, Chief Mourner, Nurse *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

: Headmaster, Preacher, Mr. Dingle *Jeremy Budd – treble: Boy soloist

References

{{Authority control Oratorios 1991 live albums 1991 oratorios 1991 classical albums Paul McCartney albums Collaborations in classical music