Symphony No. 5 (MacMillan)

Last updated

Symphony No. 5 Le grand Inconnu (The Great Unknown) is a choral symphony by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was commissioned by the Genesis Foundation. It was first performed by the U.K.-based choir The Sixteen, the Genesis Sixteen chamber choir, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Harry Christophers in Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on 17 August 2019. [1]

Contents

Composition

The work's title "Le grand Inconnu" is a French phrase referring to the mystery of the Holy Spirit, which MacMillan chose as the subject of the symphony. In the score program notes, the composer wrote, "There are, of course, many great motets from the past which set texts devoted to the Third Person of the Trinity, and in the 20th century the one piece which sticks out is the setting of the Veni Creator Spiritus in the first movement of Mahler's Eighth Symphony. But it still feels like relatively unexplored territory, so perhaps now is the time to explore this mysterious avenue, where concepts of creativity and spirituality overlap?" MacMillan described the symphony as "not a liturgical work," but "an attempt to explore the mystery discussed above in music for two choirs and orchestra." [1]

The score incorporates a number of sacred texts from English, Hebrew, Ancient Greek, and Latin, in addition to calling on the vocalists to perform audible breathing, whispering, and murmuring. The end of the second movement also contains a 20-part motet in the chorus, which references Spem in alium by the Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis. [1]

Form

The symphony has a duration of roughly an hour in performance and is cast in three movements, whose titles correspond, respectively, to wind, water, and fire:

  1. Ruah (Hebrew for "wind")
  2. Zao (Ancient Greek for "living water")
  3. Igne vel Igne (Latin for "fire or fire")

Instrumentation

The work is scored for chamber choir, chorus, and a large orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, two percussionists, harp, piano, and strings.

Reception

The symphony garnered a highly favorable response from audiences and music critics alike. Reviewing the world premiere, Rowena Smith of The Guardian said of the symphony, "It's heady stuff brimming with ideas, the result of what MacMillan describes as a compositional process lead by 'stream of consciousness'." She continued, "There are many striking sections, particularly the 20-voice motet that ends the second movement, MacMillan's homage to Tallis's mighty Spem in Alium. MacMillan's writing for voices is utterly assured – a reminder that this has become his medium in recent years. It's difficult, however, to make sense of the greater whole on first hearing. But this didn't stop it from earning a rapturous reception at the Edinburgh premiere, or a standing ovation for its composer." [2] Richard Bratby of The Spectator similarly reflected, "What it says is something with which I'm still grappling, three days after witnessing a sizeable Usher Hall audience rise, cheering, to its feet." He added, "Well, putting it crudely, the whole symphony pulls quietly towards consonance and a vast, cumulative sense of affirmation. In the moment, and for a while afterwards, that choked me up, and I don't think it was just me. Why does it feel so moving when a piece of contemporary music actually delivers on its promise? You don’t even need the words, or the faith, though MacMillan probably couldn't have achieved what he has without them." [3] Richard Fairman of the Financial Times wrote, "There is a palpable sense of MacMillan venturing into untried areas, as he aims to give voice to the mystery of the Holy Spirit. Breathing noises, whisperings and murmurings combine in a panoply of sounds." [4]

Despite praising many elements of the symphony, Ken Walton of The Scotsman wrote, "No mistaking the scorching emotional heat that roused this audience instantly to its feet. But is there too much going on, symphonic cohesion stretched to near-bursting point? Despite this electrifying performance, I still find myself asking that question." [5]

Related Research Articles

The Symphony No. 1 in D minor by Havergal Brian is a symphony composed between 1919 and 1927. At around one and three quarter hours, it is among the longest symphonies ever composed and, along with choral symphonies such as Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony or Mahler's Eighth Symphony, it is one of a few works attempting to use the musically gigantic to address the spiritual concerns of humanity. With a key-scheme that begins in D minor and eventually closes in E major, the work is an example of progressive tonality.

David Willcocks British choral conductor (1919–2015)

Sir David Valentine Willcocks, was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, which he directed from 1957 to 1974, making frequent broadcasts and recordings. Several of the descants and carol arrangements he wrote for the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols were published in the series of books Carols for Choirs which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter. He was also director of the Royal College of Music in London.

The BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London. It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though it performs with other national and international orchestras.

Alessandro Striggio was an Italian composer, instrumentalist and diplomat of the Renaissance. He composed numerous madrigals as well as dramatic music, and by combining the two, became the inventor of madrigal comedy. His son, also named Alessandro Striggio, wrote the libretto for Monteverdi's Orfeo.

Sir James Loy MacMillan, CBE is a Scottish classical composer and conductor.

The Tallis Scholars

The Tallis Scholars is a British professional early music vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers. They specialise in performing a cappella sacred vocal music.

<i>Spem in alium</i> Musical composition by Thomas Tallis

Spem in alium is a 40-part Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis, composed in c. 1570 for eight choirs of five voices each. It is considered by some critics to be the greatest piece of English early music. H. B. Collins described it in 1929 as Tallis's "crowning achievement", along with his Lamentations.

Alexander Vustin Russian composer (1943–2020)

Alexander Kuzmich Vustin, also Voustin or Wustin was a Russian composer. His works, including the opera The Devil in Love, were played and recorded internationally.

Crouch End Festival Chorus Musical artist

Crouch End Festival Chorus (CEFC) is a symphonic choir based in north London which performs in a range of musical styles, including traditional choral repertoire, contemporary classical, rock, pop and film music.

Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral Church in Cardiff, Wales

The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral Cardiff is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles Street, the Cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic life in Cardiff, and the country as a whole. It is one of only three Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the UK that is associated with a choir school.

The Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno is a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass, for 40 and 60 voices, by Florentine Renaissance composer Alessandro Striggio. It probably dates from 1565–6, during the reign of his employer Cosimo I de' Medici. Lost for more than 400 years, it was recently rediscovered in Paris. Most of the mass is for five separate choirs of 8 voices each, with the closing Agnus Dei being for five separate choirs of 12 voices each; all of the voice parts are fully independent. With its huge polychoral forces, climaxing on sixty fully independent parts, it is the largest known polyphonic composition from the entire era.

The Australian Intervarsity Choral Festival is an annual event in which members of university choirs from all state capitals of Australia and the national capital Canberra meet for two weeks to rehearse, socialise and perform combined concerts. The Festival also serves as the annual conference of the member choirs of AICSA, the Australian Intervarsity Choral Societies Association

Holst Singers

The Holst Singers are an amateur choir based in London, England. The choir is named indirectly after the English composer Gustav Holst, taking its name from the Holst Room at St Paul's Girls' School, the venue for rehearsals during the choir's early years.

English Chamber Choir

The English Chamber Choir is a choir based in England.

The Percussion Concerto No. 2 is a concerto for solo percussion and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was jointly commissioned by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the São Paulo State Symphony. It was first performed on November 7, 2014 at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, the Netherlands, by percussionist Colin Currie and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under conductor James Gaffigan. The composition is MacMillan's second percussion concerto after 1992's Veni, Veni, Emmanuel.

The Symphony No. 4 is the fourth symphony by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was composed in celebration of the conductor Donald Runnicles's 60th birthday. It was premiered at The Proms on August 3, 2015 by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Donald Runnicles.

Quickening is a cantata for countertenor, two tenors, two baritones, children's choir, chorus, and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was co-commissioned by The Proms and the Philadelphia Orchestra and was completed in 1998. Its world premiere was performed by the Hilliard Ensemble, the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, and the Westminster Cathedral Boys' Choir under the direction of Andrew Davis at Royal Albert Hall, London, on 5 September 1999. The journalist Damian Thompson of The Spectator described it as "one of MacMillan's masterpieces."

A European Requiem is a composition for countertenor, baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival, partially supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. It was first performed by the countertenor Christopher Ainslie, the baritone Morgan Smith, the Berwick Chorus of the Oregon Bach Festival, and the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra under the direction of Matthew Halls on 2 July 2016, at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon.

The Trombone Concerto is a composition for trombone and orchestra written by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for their principal trombonist Jörgen van Rijen and co-commissioned by a consortium of orchestras comprising the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonisches Orchester des Staatstheaters Cottbus. It was first performed by Jörgen van Rijen and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of Iván Fischer at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, on 20 April 2017. The piece is dedicated to Jörgen van Rijen and in memory of Sara Maria MacMillan, the composer's granddaughter, who died shortly before its composition.

References

  1. 1 2 3 MacMillan, James (2018). "Symphony No.5: 'Le grand Inconnu' (The Great Unknown)". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. Smith, Rowena (20 August 2019). "SCO/Christophers review – premiere of James MacMillan's ecstatic Fifth Symphony". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. Bratby, Richard (24 August 2019). "Why this première felt important: James MacMillan's Fifth Symphony reviewed". The Spectator . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. Fairman, Richard (10 April 2020). "The Sixteen & Britten Sinfonia: James MacMillan: Symphony No. 5 'Le grand Inconnu' — a rapturous panoply of sound". Financial Times . Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. Walton, Ken (19 August 2019). "Music reviews: SCO: MacMillan's Symphony No 5 - BBC SSO: A Scotch Bestiary, Usher Hall, Edinburgh". The Scotsman . Retrieved 16 July 2020.