Word: oratorio
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...latest Englishman to have a go is Paul McCartney, the erstwhile "cute" Beatle and Wings captain, whose quasi-autobiographical Liverpool Oratorio is soaring on the classical charts (Angel/EMI Classics has shipped 350,000 copies of the two-CD album worldwide). Commissioned for the 150th anniversary of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the 97-minute work for soloists, chorus and orchestra was first performed in McCartney's native city last July and recently got its U.S. premiere at New York City's Carnegie Hall...
This is most clear late in the album, beginning with Will You Be There, a song that sounds a little like Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio and a lot like a spiritual scored for the first cathedral in outer space. Lush, sentimental sounds continue through the next two tunes before things settle back to the hard rhythm of Black or White. It's a virtuoso performance. Michael may wear his heart on his sleeve, but a fair portion of his soul, it seems, is still back in church. Sorry, Bart...
...piece, which Bach composed in 1732, is generally acknowledged as the most powerful and unique oratorio setting of the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In this monumental work in which two choruses, two orchestras and eight soloists perform for over three hours, Bach alternates between recitative narration by the Evangelist, who represents St. Matthew, turbulent crowd choruses, various commentary in the solo arias and reflective, moving chorales...
Bach's Christmas Oratorio: Boston Premiere Ensemble, Sanders Theatre, Cambridge...
...film The Big Chill and Broadway's The Real Thing. This year for a topper, Close, 37, is trying two of each. The Connecticut-born actress opens this week in an off-Broadway play, Childhood, and recently did an off-off-Broadway performance of Arthur Honegger's oratorio Joan of Arc at the Stake. At the same time, she has two movies in the can: The Jagged Edge, a courtroom drama, and Maxie, a romantic comedy about a 1920s actress whose spirit materializes in the present. "I love doing comedy," enthuses Close, "and I love dressing up." But given...