About The Oratorio

The music of The GOSPA Oratorio was written between October 2001 & May 2002.

In June 2002, a tape copy of a final, computer-generated draft of the work was taken to Medjugorje by its authors, Mike and Phil Read-Shaw (the composer and librettist respectively).

Everybody there who heard it performed by an impromptu choir of five, (see picture) was sufficiently generous in their praise of the work that, in September 2002, work was able to begin on producing a proper - human - recording of it.

The recording sessions, at Master Studios in Manchester, England, were hard work - gruelling, even - but oh, so rewarding! All twelve pieces, produced by the composer and engineered by Andy Summers, were completed within seven days, with just one-and-a-bit more required for putting in the finishing touches.

'Voces Angelorum', the ensemble that performed on this recording of The GOSPA Oratorio, are:

• Jamie Mulgrew and her brother, Frankie Mulgrew;
• Mike Read-Shaw and his daughter, Emily Read-Shaw;
• Andy Summers and his wife, Helen Summers;
• Helen Waite.

Thanks are also due to:

• Maureen Flynn and her daughter, Dominique Flynn;
• Amy Morris
• Phil Read-Shaw, his wife, Carla, and their daughter, Camilla Read-Shaw;

Without the contribution of any one of them, this work would not be as it is.