Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

When I requested a review copy of this CD I was expecting a Christmas oratorio. I was correct in the oratorio but this is neither a Christmas release nor indeed an explicitly Christian piece at all. However it is a worthwhile recommendation both musically and, in its way, spiritually so please read on. Composer Jonathan Dove (born 1959) was commissioned to write 'There Was A Child' in memory of Robert Van Allen, whose father was rehearsing Dove's first main-stage opera at Glyndebourne in 1999 when Robert, aged 19, drowned while snorkelling in Thailand. 'There Was A Child' uses a sequence of poems to trace a young life from birth to young manhood. Like Benjamin Britten, Dove has a gift for selecting just the right text and then finding just the right setting for it. We open with Charles Causley's "I Am The Song" and travel on to the title piece, by Walt Whitman. The journey is, of course, bitter-sweet but the music always fits the texts and Dove clearly has a gift for melody. We have mentioned Britten and could throw in John Rutter, Arvo Part and Richard Rodney Bennett as other comparisons. This oratorio could well enter the secular canon and although I would not use it as part of a church service there is nothing in it that is inherently wrong with either words or music. I know nothing about the state of Robert Van Allen's soul but the texts chosen in his memory suggest that perhaps he died without hope. This is not the time or the place to enter into a discussion of the differences between a Christian and a secular funeral but I would suggest that the music is far less important than the message. This is a well performed and in many ways enjoyable recording that will be of interest to all who like contemporary choral music but, ultimately, there is something missing.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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