Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio

Paul McCartney (Composer), Carl Davis (Conductor), Ian Tracey (Conductor), Sally Burgess (Performer), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Kiri Te Kanawa (Performer), Jerry Hadley (Performer), Jeremy Budd (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Sally Burgess, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jerry Hadley, Jeremy Budd
• Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Carl Davis, Ian Tracey
• Composer: Paul McCartney
• Audio CD (October 11, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002RSK
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,325 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement I: War

2. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement I: War

3. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement I: War

4. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement I: War

5. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement I: War

6. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement II: School

7. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement II: School

8. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement II: School

9. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement II: School

10. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement II: School

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement V: Wedding

2. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement V: Wedding

3. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement V: Wedding

4. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

5. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

6. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

7. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

8. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

9. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

10. Liverpool Oratorio for soloists, chorus & orchestra: Movement VI: Work

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than any other Pop Stars' Efforts, August 7, 2005

By 

CJB (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (Audio CD)

I'll admit that I dislike opera, and the only reason I was exposed to this work was because it was McCartney (and also, I suppose, because I love classical music). There are certain elements that are common to all good music, no matter what genre;one such is melody. McCartney has built a career on intoxicating tunes, and he doesn't stop here. I've listened to classical music for a long time, and these are some of the best melodies I've ever heard. McCartney doesn't seem too worried with "Oh, this is Classical, and my my, I mustn't disturb the English caste system of 'how things are supposed to be'". He basically just does what he does best, only he puts it into a classical context. I'm somewhat surprised he pulled it off so well for a first-timer, but then again, McCartney's works from very early on suggest an uncommon ability to write well in a multitude of styles. More so than John Lennon, he seems to be able to step outside himself and indulge in whatever role is needed to write a great song. If Lennon and McCartney had been actors and not Beatles, Lennon would have been a Sean Penn or Alan Alda or Gary Cooper-type, playing basically an extension of himself, but playing it passionately, and playing it very well. McCartney would've been more like Dustin Hoffman or Meryl Streep, with a broad range, amazingly different in every role.
McCartney's sophomore effort, "Standing Stone," was one I found very uninteresting. The next one, "Working Classical," is outstanding.
That stated, I find the first CD (the Oratorio is 2 discs) to be five-star, and the second to drag somewhat, about a 3 1/2. So let's call it a four or 4 1/2.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars McCartney Classical, take one, November 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (Audio CD)

Best to look at this now in hindsight. This is where McCartney began his Classical Music career - one can point to The Family Way soundtrack, the Eleanor's Dream score based on Eleanor Rigby's string accompaniment which is on Give My Regards To Broad Street, but this is where it begins in earnest. If you've heard the more realized works that followed (Standing Stone, the pieces on Working Classical or the work on Garlands for Linda), you will better appreciate this full length concert work in its proper context. It is not pop music. And it is not fully realized classical either, but it has its moments which are brilliant. Lyrically, it is comical at times and you have to wonder (aside from the Spanish Lesson) how much Sir Paul might have found "funny" at the time, especially hearing august operatic voices singing them. Melodically, phrases will stay with you long after the recording is over. There is some beautiful music here if you will give it a chance. If you are only interested in giving McCartney's classical writing an ear, try starting with Standing Stone or Working Classical (which includes quartet arrangements of many familiar songs).

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The second star is for effort, June 11, 2005

By 

R. L. MILLER (FT LAUDERDALE FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (Audio CD)

This man's been playing Silly Love Songs ever since the contrast between that and the late John Lennon's pre-punk ethos formed the nucleus of the Beatles. But you have to remember that the main reason this freshman effort at symphonic music reached the mass market at all was because McCartney had made his mark many years ago. Already being famous helps, believe me. The arrangements are courtesy of Sir Paul laying out the basic threads using MIDI computer sequencing, at which point an arranger steps in and transcribes the result into real orchestral parts. And the libretto here are more than just a tad weak. One scene deals with a quarrel between Our Hero and his newly-pregnant wife. He makes that one statement in such situations that one regrets as soon as he says it, and gets this response;

Wife: "Right!"
(dramatic rchestral hit)
Wife: "I'm off!"
(repeat of same chord)
Wife: (spoken) "And by the way, you're going to be a father."

And she promptly storms out into the street and gets hit by a car. Oh buh-rother! Unless I miss my guess, operatic work is not McCartney's long suit. Aparently that occurred to him as well, because his followup work is "The Standing Stones", a much stronger work that is instrumental. If you're a follower of Paul as "the cute one" of the Beatles, both of these works will be but pieces in a collection. If you're curious about Sir Paul's musical visions, you're better off with the later work.