Tippett’s anguished yet empathetic oratorio was prompted by the news of Kristallnacht in 1938, and was first performed in 1944 during World War II. This recording, made in May 2013, is released a fortnight after the death of its conductor, the much-loved Sir Andrew Davis. The superlative team of soloists includes the superb tenor Joshua Stewart, the rich-toned soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly singing with characteristic intelligence and commitment. As the Narrator, Ashley Riches is a wonderfully dark-toned bass-baritone. The BBC Symphony Orchestra plays incisively, while the Symphony Chorus match every mood from vengeful crowd to consoling warmth in the spirituals which Tippett uses to universalize and transfigure the suffering of the protagonists.