Jonathan Dove wrote There Was a Child as a tribute to a friend’s son who died tragically young. Filled with both joyous celebration and heartfelt emotion, it’s a big, warm-hearted modern masterpiece in the spirit of Britten and vaughan Williams – following in an evergreen english tradition and featuring the combined forces of the CBSO and CBSO Chorus, Youth Chorus and Junior Chorus with soloists Joan Rodgers and Toby Spence.

A review of the concert from which this recording was taken:

"Jonathan Dove’s There Was a Child is a major addition to the choral repertoire, and will surely be taken up by societies up and down the country, perhaps with reduced orchestration for economy’s sake. Emotionally soul-baring, sharing an umbilical cord with Finzi’s Intimations of Immortality and even Dies Natalis, this panorama of a young life draws texts from so many fine poets and therefore demands consummate clarity of presentation.” Birmingham Post