Page 246 - FINAL_The Sixteen Coverage Book 40th Anniversary Year

James MacMillan, present in Alice Tully Hall last night, precludes the word “eminence”
because his recent compositions, complex and contemporary, are so accessible,
because his feelings never shrink into the mechanics of the music, because, in the case
of last night’s choral music, he has bitten into the Latin words and made them live.

Most unconventional of all, he is a true believer. An ardent Catholic, Mr. MacMillan –
like Messiaen–embraces every religion, he finds the spiritual in all creatures (even
humanity!). Last night that spirit took flight.

Previously I had heard (and been highly impressed with) his non-choral works. (I was
going to say “secular” , but he obviously would find that confining.) His Violin Concerto
was fervent, dance-like, eccentric. His Third String Quartet showed the same uncanny
mastery of strings as he showed last night in the Britten Sinfonia, the string ensemble
which accompanied The Sixteen.

Mr. Christophers’ two ensembles gave us two MacMillan choral works, Miserere, and
Stabat Mater. The former had been monopolized by Gregorio Allegri (and the
anecdotes are too multitudinous for this column). Stabat Mater been composed by
literally hundreds of composers, from Bach and Vivaldi to Pergolesi, Verdi and even
Szymanowski. What they all had in common was stately often inspired music which
could have fit any liturgical or secular words. And when one hears, say, the Pergolesi
Stabat Mater, which this writer did a month ago, the review was about the music and
the performers. Not the meaning of the verse itself.

J. MacMillan (© Hans van der Woer)

Mr. MacMillan eschewed even the possibility of mere music-making. His Stabat Mater,
both voices and strings almost literally wept. Within this one-hour work, one heard
trembling, whispering, crying for comfort. Not literally, of course, but through a
passion of almost unearthly intensity.

For the 13th Century Stabat Mater is not actually a prayer. In fact, like Bach’s
Passions, like Messiah, it is drama, a story, an editorial commentary on the vision of
Mary seeing her son on the cross. It was this drama which Mr. MacMillan captured.

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