Joubert Centenary Celebration

A Time to be Born is a cantata for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra, designed to be performed on either modern or Bach-period instruments. It sets words from a variety of poets from William Blake to Mary Coleridge, dealing with different aspects of childbirth - serious; comical; mystical. The central duet for alto and bass welcoming a new-born child into our dangerous world features a delightful text translated from Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs). The cantata was premiered in Birmingham by Ex Cathedra in 2019. Alec Roth’s usual practice of revising a new work after the first performance was disrupted by the onset of the Covid Pandemic. The composer is most grateful to Jeffrey Skidmore and the Birmingham Conservatoire students for giving the revised work (including a new concluding movement) its first performance.