Macmillan: Mass & other sacred music [CD]

This recording of James MacMillan's Mass is an intense, emotionally charged 70 minutes reflecting the composer's deeply held religious beliefs. These are beliefs which, as he has said in commenting on the mood of Mass, are not immune to doubts and fears and an awareness of the "tragedies and uncertainties of our age". So don't expect an easy listen. The music featured on this album unfolds slowly, patiently, seeming to exist outside time, yet is coloured by extremes of pitch and dynamic requiring great virtuosity and control. The Mass, which is written in Latin and incorporates priest and congregation in liturgical use, could have been written for the singers of the Westminster Cathedral Choir, who know its contours intimately. The traditional hard-edged sound of the Westminster Cathedral trebles cuts through the vast acoustic like a knife, right up until the wonderfully imaginative hold-your-breath ending of the "Agnus Dei". A range of other British cathedrals and churches boast connections with MacMillan works included here, among them St Paul's Cathedral and King's College Chapel, Cambridge. The Scottish accents of "A New Song" beguile and bewitch while the moving "A Child's Prayer" commemorates the 1996 Dunblane tragedy. Among the soloists, treble David de Winter provides some breathtaking moments in "Christus Vincit". --Andrew Green

GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE BEST CDs OF THE YEAR 'From the moment this CD begins, the senses tingle with the magical, spiritual nature of the music' (The Sunday Herald) 'This music, the Mass in particular, is virtually guaranteed a passage into the central repertoire of choirs around the world; it could hardly have had a better springboard than this recording' (International Record Review) 'A busy railway carriage is probably not the ideal environment in which to listen to James MacMillan s music. But the fact that it transported me to another place is proof of the power of his music' (Classic FM Magazine) 'Anyone familiar with the ambience of Westminster Cathedral from the sound of the choir and organ to the pungent scents of wax polish and incense will feel at home immediately and it is difficult to imagine this music sounding as good in any other place. Highly recommended, these performances of this powerful music will repay concentrated listening and repetition' (Organists' Review) 'A programme of exceptional quality and interest, which no genuine lover of cathedral music should ignore' (Cathedral Music) 'Powerful liturgical music from one of today's most admired composers, performed with passionate intensity' (Gramophone) 'It is hard to think of any recent music that conveys religious ecstasy as intensely as James MacMillan's Mass ... music of high voltage from first to last ... the singing of Westminster Cathedral Choir is electrifying' (The Guardian) 'Performances throughout are exceptionally fine and the recorded sound radiantly atmospheric' (Gramophone) 'A sublime disc' (BBC Music Magazine) 'Outstanding performances. Gaudeamus in loci pace is a breath-catching bonus' (HMV Choice) 'Long life to James MacMillan and a plentiful supply of pens and ink' (Fanfare, USA) 'A striking issue well worth the investment of all interested in recent choral literature' --American Record Guide

Most of MacMillan's choral music was written during the last decade of the twentieth century. Yet in its nature it extends back to his roots, and in particular to his long-held Catholic beliefs. The Mass on this disc, written for Westminster Cathedral, is one of three Mass settings by MacMillan, although it is the only one written for a professional choir. The St Anne Mass (1985, revised 1996) is a congregational setting with optional choir parts, and the Galloway Mass (1996) has some simple choral writing, but can also be performed with a solo cantor. Many of MacMillan s other choral works have a religious basis to them. Among his early choral pieces, Beatus Vir, a setting of Psalm 112, was written in 1983 for the Norwich Festival of Contemporary Church Music. But the 1990s brought the greatest number of choral works, including all the works in this collection apart from the Mass. In the same decade came Catherine's Lullabies (1992), which brings together texts from several diverse religious sources, from Isaiah and Ecclesiasticus, to the Creed, the Magnificat and the Litany of Saints, and Cantos Sagrados (1990) which sprang from the composer s interest in liberation theology in a synthesis of apparently secular poems with traditional religious texts. Other works, such as Divo Aloysio Sacrum (1991), Here in Hiding (1993), Seven Last Words from the Cross (1994), On the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin (1997) and the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (2000) also spring from his intense interest in religious ideas and, like the works on this disc, are informed by his own Christian faith. One work from the 1999 Proms season, his vast symphonic cantata Quickening, included a significant part written for the choristers of Westminster Cathedral Choir, who sang from a high gallery at its first performance at London's Royal Albert Hall. MacMillan knows that his background will divide, and that while some will be drawn closer, others will be pushed away by the religious underpinning of so much of his choral work. But , he says, I don t believe any composer can write in an ideological or temperamental vacuum. You have got to be able to respond to something innate in your psychology, otherwise it has no personal integrity. If ever there were a piece with personal integrity, it is MacMillan's Westminster Cathedral Mass

When at first we sang this Mass, I must admit that I loathed it. We had already sung some Macmillan at the Proms in 2000 I think, and as I recall that went down extremely badly with the critics. However, over the last few years, the works by Macmillan that I sang grew on me, and I hope that now you will enjoy them as much as I do.

David De Winter was quite a character. In the year above me, I was always pleased to note that he was one of the few people who was shorter than myself. His solo I feel is very well done, and I am glad it was not me, as poor David had to stay up until 11:00 pm: an hour after the rest of the choristers were in bed.

I joined Westminster Cathedral Choir in 1997 quite by accident; there were posters up outside the Cathedral portico, and one Sunday when my father took me to Mass there we had a look at them and thought I should try for the choir. Happily I got in and spent my best schooldays there. In 2002 I left, having come to the end of the last year, and am now at the Royal Hospital School, Suffolk. I still enjoy singing very much, and will always be glad to have something to fall back on if I ever run out of money!