Maria with the child and singing angels

Audio transcription

From an interview with Neville Rowley, curator of the Gemäldegalerie, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

The child squeezes his mother’s breast, from which golden milk sprays.

The golden milk was meant to be seen. At the same time it was hidden to avoid all that nudity. Botticelli has painted other naked women, such as his Venus who’s in the same room at Gemäldegalerie. But nakedness wasn’t acceptable for Mary.

The audience of viewers of the time could clearly see baby Jesus squeezing her nipple. It is partly veiled by Mary’s dress and the baby’s shadow, but just as visible as that commonly known yet intimate gesture.

Audio transcription

From an interview with Neville Rowley, curator of the Gemäldegalerie, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

She is very melancholy.

She looks at us, but in a different way than baby Jesus or the angel on the left. She doesn’t really look, she’s elsewhere in her thoughts.

So why is Mary sad? In Florence and in Italian Renaissance art this is often attributed to her knowing that her child will die far too early and for the sake of humankind. That’s her mission, she’s bound to be passive and to endure. Several theologists and artists have interpreted this knowingness, and Botticelli was clearly one of the most important artists of that time.

Audio transcription

From an interview with Gregor Meyer, artistic assistant of the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, spoken by Andrew Redmond, bass in the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin

There are clearly two teams of young angels, as if sung polyphonically or antiphonally. This special piece by Britten with two choirs who sing in two languages. The large choir sings in English, while four individual singers – soprano, alto, tenor, bass – form an echo choir who sings in Latin.

On the right, there are four angels who read or scribe into a book. Their mouths are open as they sing or speak. The other four angels on the left linger, eager to respond. Their lips are closed, that’s the antiphonal side to it.