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Track Listings
| 1. Tenebrae Responsories - Cappella Nova |
| 2. Missa Brevis - Cappella Nova |
| 3. Strathclyde Motets - Cappella Nova |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The CD includes a Missa Brevis written when the composer was still a schoolboy and which he's only tweeked slightly since, he says in the notes enclosed with the disc. It's not surprising that he still feels pleased with it as it's a lovely piece.
"Give me Justice" is as rousing as the title suggests, with strong Scottish influences interspersed with timeless devotional passages.
Rather more demanding of the performers and audience are the Tenebrae Responsories, meriting repeated listening.
And then there are the truly lovely Strathclyde Motets. It's not so much the clarity of these fine voices as the effect of the pauses between phrases, where those voices hang in the air like Manley Hopkins' windhover. At several points, during the Motets especially, I caught my breath as the sound reverberated, as if the air of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh was somehow saturated in sound. Perhaps the best example of this is during the beautiful solo, half way through Sedebit Dominus Rex. Divine, mystic music. Mark O'Keefe's trumpet in the second of the motets is splendid, too, like shafts of light shining through the piece. I was taken back to a Good Friday over 30 years ago, in the Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool. The sun shone though those floor to ceiling slits of stained glass, throwing slashes of crimson across the congregation. Stirring stuff.
Capella Nova surely know what they're about and Linn have done their usual first class job with this recording. I imagine MacMillan could hardly fail to have been pleased with the results.
Is it nit-picky to mention one or two "tuning issues," as they say these days? Probably. It's a beautiful, inspirational CD, despite it's sludgy, gloomy cover.
"Give me Justice" is as rousing as the title suggests, with strong Scottish influences interspersed with timeless devotional passages.
Rather more demanding of the performers and audience are the Tenebrae Responsories, meriting repeated listening.
And then there are the truly lovely Strathclyde Motets. It's not so much the clarity of these fine voices as the effect of the pauses between phrases, where those voices hang in the air like Manley Hopkins' windhover. At several points, during the Motets especially, I caught my breath as the sound reverberated, as if the air of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh was somehow saturated in sound. Perhaps the best example of this is during the beautiful solo, half way through Sedebit Dominus Rex. Divine, mystic music. Mark O'Keefe's trumpet in the second of the motets is splendid, too, like shafts of light shining through the piece. I was taken back to a Good Friday over 30 years ago, in the Roman Catholic cathedral in Liverpool. The sun shone though those floor to ceiling slits of stained glass, throwing slashes of crimson across the congregation. Stirring stuff.
Capella Nova surely know what they're about and Linn have done their usual first class job with this recording. I imagine MacMillan could hardly fail to have been pleased with the results.
Is it nit-picky to mention one or two "tuning issues," as they say these days? Probably. It's a beautiful, inspirational CD, despite it's sludgy, gloomy cover.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is a lovely CD of MacMillan's work ranging over 30 years. I would single out the 2nd Strathclyde motet (2nd track) as particularly memorable with its haunting trumpet accompaniment (echoeing Copland). The early mass is a fine piece and the tenebrae (darker hued and recalling his seven last words) are also worthy pieces. MacMillan's celtic/eastern approach to choral music is particularly attractive. If this appeals, I would recommend MacMillan's westminster mass and his seven last words (on hyperion).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:MP3 Download|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first heard James Macmillan's music when I bought his 'Mass' (Hyperion) and I was hooked. This CD is an excellent companion to this. It's very beautiful, evocative, spiritual music that is good for the soul. I bought the MP3 version and the sound quality is excellent.
Very highly recommended.
Very highly recommended.
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