Peter Maxwell Davies

A substantial work for four soli, SATB chorus and orchestra, using text from the translation of Stephen Mitchell's The Book Of Job.
Like Vaughan Williams in his Job: A Masque for Dancing, Davies was inspiredinpart by William Blake's 21 engravings for the Book of Job. His oratorio, however, is less dependent on find parallels for Blake's visual details, given the direct poetry in David Lemon's adaptation of the StephenMitchelltranslation from the biblical original, it is hardly surprising that the spotlight should be so much on Job's suffering litany. The baritone has the lion's share of the setting, though the other soloists occasionallyreinforce hisplea and chorale-like episodes universalize his predicament. Davies frames with work with two seminal plainsong-like passages; there is also plenty of dramatic contrast both within Job's monologues and in the vividorchestralwriting for the smarmy Comforters, the initially shrill God who finally appears out of a dazzling orchestral whirlwind and the animal life he uses to illustrate the wonders of creation to a humbled Job.
Commissionedby theUniversity of British Colombia, it was first performed in May 1997 by Valdine Anderson (soprano), Linda Maguire (mezzo soprano), Paul Moore (tenor) and Kevin McMillan (baritone) with the Vancouver Bach Choir and the CBCVancouverOrchestra, conducted by the composer.
Vocal score with piano reduction of the orchestral score. Duration c. 70mins.