Composed in 1999, John Adams’ nativity oratorio, El Niño (“the kid”), is a meditation on the character of miracles. Primarily based on the New Testomony gospels, which Adams celebrates as “little greater than lengthy sequences of miracles,” the narrative construction is just like that of Handel’s Messiah. Adams writes,
Narrative passages alternate with arias and choruses that meditate or replicate on the principal themes. Amongst these might be talked about the thriller of the Conception and the miracle of the Nativity (and I ought to say, not solely the start of Christ, but in addition that of all youngsters). Different themes: the suspicion and jealousy of Joseph, the being pregnant of Mary (and of all girls), the paranoia of Herod (and of all tyrants), and the theme of exile.
Not like Messiah, Adams attracts upon a wide selection of texts. These embody historic prophetic works of Haggai and Isaiah, Martin Luther’s Christmas Sermon, the “gnostic” gospels of Apocrypha, and the work of contemporary Mexican poet and novelist Rosario Castellanos.
I Sing of a Maiden
El Niño begins with an nameless fifteenth century English textual content which celebrates the Annunciation of Mary. Musically, the opening bars ship an ecstatic, anticipation-filled “announcement” just like News Has a Kind of Mystery from Adams’ first opera, Nixon in China. Unfolding step by step over a persistent pulse, utilizing the elements of Minimalism, it’s music which pulls us into an ever-eternal current. The ultimate moments ship a blinding sonic flash.
Magnificat
Mary’s Tune of Reward is from Luke 1:46-55. The hovering soliloquy rises over dreamy, mysterious oscillating strains within the orchestra.
Shake the Heavens
The phrases of the Previous Testomony prophet Haggai seem in Handel’s Messiah (“Thus saith the Lord”). Right here, there are echoes of Adams’ ferocious, trembling 1978 string septet, Shaker Loops.
Se Habla De Gabriel
Rosario Castellanos’ poem, Se Habla De Gabriel (“Talking of Gabriel”) displays on the ache of childbirth, and concludes with divine transcendence.
The Christmas Star
The oratorio’s first half concludes with exalted choral counterpoint. The phrases of Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral meet a twelfth century hymn (O quam preciosa) by Hildegard von Bingen. The joyful strains evaporate with a suddenness that may remind you of the music of Charles Ives.
Recordings
- Adams: El Niño, Kent Nagano · Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin · The London Voices Nonesuch Records
