John Roos’ Blog

James MacMillan is among today’s most important composers. A devoted Catholic, he also has been outspoken is stressing the continuing importance of religious values, which have inspired much of his music.

As an example, he has said, “At a time when we find it impossible to make time for any sort of real concentration and reflection, I see music-making – whether creating something new, or preserving something past – as a beacon in a de-sensitized and de-sacralised world. We need to discover a sense of the sacred in the world in order to experience life in its fulness.”

His “big break” as a composer came in a 1990 performance at the BBC Proms of his orchestral tone poem The Confessions of Isabel Gowdie. It was clear that he spoke in a musical language that seemed to satisfy all segments of the audience. His melodies and harmonies were approachable, yet his tonal pallet selectively embraced dissonance. It was complex and yet relevant, and memorable, music audiences wanted to hear again, and again.

 

But, for me and many others, the work that first attracted attention was his Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, (O Come O Come Emmanual) for percussion soloist and orchestra. I heard this first in the debut recording with Evelyn Glennie, the brilliant, deaf percussion soloist.

 

As glorious is this recording, I was not prepared for the shock of seeing and hearing this performed live in Los Angeles a few years ago, with Glennie as soloist. I still get chills remembering the conclusing moments. The orchestra played, as she walked — O! so slowly — to the back of the stage. Orchestra members began ringing bells, the sound crescendoeing, until the whole hall seemed to be alive, ringing, singing. In an effect impossible to replicate on recording, Glennie played the O Come Emmanual theme on chimes (from the back of the stage), until the bells and chimes faded into silence.

The audience, that night in Los Angeles, joined me, in stunned celebration. Applauding, unable to stop. To everyone, it seemed clear that this was a modern masterpiece. Here is the perfect blend of Christmas and Easter. We celebrate the Christ-child, through modern instruments and sounds, but end in a timeless celebration of the risen Christ, in triumph.

Today, we can choose from Glennie’s recording as well as another fiine recording featuring Colin Currie. Either way, this is music that must be heard.

 

We are fortunate to have many recordings of MacMillan’s music. Among the finest is a recording by the Westminster Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Martin Baker of MacMillan’s Mass and Other Sacred Works. The opening cut, A New Song, is one of my most frequently played selections on my i-Pod. I literally melt hearing this glorious choir.

 

I’m also partial to MacMillan’s World’s Ransoming, written for English Horn and orchestral. There have been two outstanding recordings, and both feature Christine Pendrill, for whom the work was written. And who plays brilliantly on both.

 

There are many other wonderful recordings available of MacMillan’s music. Like The Berserking. Like the men who inspired this music, much of this music is wild. But MacMillan brings this to a close with a stunning conclusion, as piano and celeste almost make time stop, with a kind of music box serenity.

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Or try the BIS recording of his Epiclesis and Ninian, works for trumpet and clarinet solo.

 

We are fortunate to have so many recordings by a contemporary composer, still in the prime of his life. MacMillan proves that “classical” music still can be relevant, and that great music still is being written today.

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