Pierre Boulez, during his years at the BBC, was celebrated (or notorious) for his lack of interest in such mainstream English composers as Britten and Tippett. Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, his successor as Chief Conductor, was more catholic, more tolerant, and this performance of A Child of Our Time reveals a wholehearted and positive response to the score that pays many dividends.
The main dividend is dramatic intensity. It is a fast performance (see below) but for the most part the conductor moulds the music persuasively, aided by a confident chorus and orchestra and a strong if not uniformly polished team of soloists. Jill Gomez is the star, her pure yet characterful tone arousing memories of Elsie Morison in the first recording of the work under Sir John Pritchard (Decca, 9/58 – now available on Belart).
It is all the more to be regretted that, when it comes to the high point of the oratorio – the ensemble ''I would know my shadow and my light'', which leads into the final Spiritual – Rozhdestvensky's tendency to drive the music forwards prompts too fast a tempo for the good of the supremely eloquent melodic lines. The great moment of illumination is botched, and while the tempo can be defended as all of a piece with the performance as a whole, such a rendering of the work's climax is hardly likely to encourage repeated listening. For that we have Tippett's own account, or – my own preference – Sir Colin Davis's. For an analogue recording at bargain price the sound on this BBC disc is acceptable. It's a pity no text was provided.'