Lloyd Webber Oratorio – Sincere, But…

An oratorio written by Andrew and Julian Lloyd Webber’s father William in 1948, gets its world premiere. “If sincerity alone were the key to a work’s success, St Francis of Assisi would be a winner, but unfortunately the score falls down on so many crucial issues of drama, variety, pacing and characterisation that it emerged in this belated premiere, given by the Joyful Company of Singers, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and a team of fine soloists conducted by Peter Broadbent, as more of a curiosity than a real find.”