Oxford Philharmonic to stream concert dedicated to vaccine team

It was a joy to attend a recording session on December 3. The programme includes the world premiere of John Rutter’s Joseph’s Carol, written 'at the invitation of Marios Papadopoulos and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and respectfully dedicated to the Oxford Vaccine team': the Oxford Vaccine Group, the Jenner Institute and the RECOVERY team. It was written with bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in mind, who sang the premiere, which was conducted by John Rutter himself.

The Oxford Vaccine Group is one of a number of teams working, as they put it, 'at an unprecedented speed in a race against the global threat to human health that is coronavirus'. On November 23, 2020, they announced that, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, Phase III trials had shown that their vaccine was 'effective at preventing COVID-19 and offers a high level of protection'. Celebrating such an achievement in music, especially with the Oxford Philharmonic at hand on the doorstep, seems only right.

John Rutter’s instantly recognisable musical signature shines through Joseph’s Carol, a re-telling of the Jesus story from Joseph’s viewpoint, while relating the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, where hope lay in the form of the baby Jesus: a highly symbolic journey of struggle from darkness to light. Scored for baritone, choir and orchestra, the 'narrator' tells of the journey while the choir in their “Ecce miraculum” (Here is the miracle) announce the infant King, Jesus, in the stable. As Rutter himself said, expressing his gratitude at being invited to contribute to the celebration, 'as always, music goes beyond worlds'. Terfel and the orchestra were joined by the excellent Choir of Merton College, Oxford.

The programme also includes Terfel in partnership with Jette Parker Young Artist Alexandra Lowe (in powerful voice) in Rogers and Hammerstein’s You’ll Never Walk Alone and with Christ Church Cathedral Chorister Alexander Oleson (a BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2020 finalist) in Abide with Me, a well-known hymn of solace. Seeing Terfel’s encouragement in between takes to his fellow singers was a joy in itself. Presented by John Suchet, the concert will also be streamed on Classic FM’s Facebook page as well as the Oxford Philharmonic’s YouTube channel.

The director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and chief investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, Professor Andrew Pollard, talked of his delight 'that the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra has decided to pay tribute to the remarkable and dedicated team of inspiring individuals, at the University and Hospital, who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to assess the Oxford vaccine and show that it can protect people from the pandemic virus. We would also like to dedicate the moment to all those who came forward to take part in the trials during this uncertain time, to help in the assessment of the vaccine.'