Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio

Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio
Live album by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis
Released 11 October 1991
Recorded 28 & 29 June 1991
Genre Classical
Length 1:37:28
Label EMI Classics
Producer John Fraser
Paul McCartney chronology
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg)
(1991)		 Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio
(1991)		 Off the Ground
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

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.[2][3][4]

Contents

Track listing

All pieces by Paul McCartney and Carl Davis. The first four movements are on disc one, the second four on disc two.

War

  1. Andante (Orchestra) – 2:02
  2. 'Non nobis solum' – 2:35
  3. 'The Air Raid Siren Slices Through...' (Shanty) – 2:09
  4. 'Oh Will It All End Here?' (Shanty) – 1:36
  5. 'Mother And Father Holding Their Child' – 1:16

School

  1. 'We're Here In School Today To Get A Perfect Education' – 2:10
  2. 'Walk In Single File Out Of The Classroom' (Headmaster) – 1:02
  3. 'Settle Down' – 0:40
  4. 'Kept In Confusion' (Shanty) – 2:35
  5. 'I'll Always Be Here' (Mary Dee) – 1:35
  6. 'Boys, This Is Your Teacher' (Headmaster, Miss Inkley) – 1:23
  7. 'Tres conejos' (Miss Inkley, Headmaster, Shanty) – 1:50
  8. 'Not For Ourselves' (Headmaster, Miss Inkley, Shanty) – 0:55

Crypt

  1. 'And So It Was That I Had Grown' (Shanty) – 0:48
  2. Dance – 1:44
  3. 'I Used To Come Here When This Place Was A Crypt' (Shanty, Preacher) – 1:58
  4. 'Here Now' (Shanty) – 0:46
  5. 'I'll Always Be Here' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 2:24
  6. 'Now's The Time To Tell Him' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 2:21

Father

  1. Andante Lamentoso – 2:59
  2. 'O Father, You Have Given...' (Chief Mourner) – 1:05
  3. '(Ah)' – 1:13
  4. 'Hey, Wait A Minute' (Shanty) – 1:44
  5. 'Father, Father, Father' (Shanty, Chief Mourner) – 4:12

Wedding

  1. Andante Amoroso - 'I Know I Should Be Glad Of This' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 5:42
  2. 'Father, Hear Our Humble Voices' (Preacher) – 1:13
  3. 'Hosanna, Hosanna' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 1:40

Work

  1. Allegro Energico – 1:20
  2. 'Working Women At The Top' (Mary Dee) – 2:52
  3. Violin Solo – 5:05
  4. 'Did I Sign The Letter...' (Mary Dee) – 1:34
  5. Tempo I – 0:30
  6. 'When You Ask A Working Man' (Shanty, Mr. Dingle) – 1:34
  7. 'Let's Find Ourselves A Little Hostelry' (Mr. Dingle) – 2:04

Crises

  1. Allegro Molto – 0:54
  2. 'The World You're Coming Into' (Mary Dee) – 2:28
  3. Tempo I – 0:45
  4. 'Where's My Dinner?' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 2:40
  5. 'Let's Not Argue' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 0:31
  6. 'I'm Not A Slave' (Mary Dee, Shanty) – 0:52
  7. 'Right! That's It!' (Mary Dee) – 0:49
  8. 'Stop. Wait.' – 2:03
  9. 'Do You Know Who You Are...' (Nurse) – 3:36
  10. 'Ghosts Of The Past Left Behind' (Nurse, Shanty, Mary Dee) – 3:08
  11. 'Do We Live In A World...' (Mary Dee, Nurse, Shanty) – 3:18

Peace

  1. 'And So It Was That You Were Born' (Shanty) – 1:22
  2. 'God Is Good' – 1:26
  3. 'What People Want Is A Family Life' (Preacher) – 2:17
  4. 'Dad's In The Garden' (Nurse, Mary Dee, Preacher, Shanty) – 3:13
  5. 'So On And On The Story Goes' (Shanty, Mary Dee) – 1:06

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ New York Times Review
  3. ^ The Guardian Review
  4. ^ Gramophone review of recording
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The Family Way · Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio · Standing Stone · Working Classical · Ecce Cor Meum · Ocean's Kingdom
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