A Christmas Day

Alec Davison reviews a new work by Tony Biggin

by Alec Davison 16th December 2016

To have had one is barrier-leaping, to have had two is beginning to be a custom, but to have had three major musical premieres performed in London’s Royal Festival Hall is surely a rarity to be recognised. Such are the unique gifts of Quaker composer Tony Biggin. Following performances of his oratorios The Gates of Greenham in 1985 and Cry of the Earth in 1990, both given by the Quaker Festival Orchestra and Chorus, the 5 December hat-trick was something different. But again the Hall was packed and the crowded audience, not Quakers this time, was just as exuberant in its reception.