MacMillan's Christmas Oratorio, composed in 2019, is his first work to take the birth of Christ as its starting point, following a period of fascination with Easter and the Passion of Christ.
Recording & Production
The Christmas Oratorio was commissioned by multiple organizations, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, NTR Zaterdagmatinee, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Performer Biography
Sir Mark Elder, the conductor on this album, has been Music Director of the Hallé since 2000 and was previously Music Director of English National Opera from 1979-1993.
Composer's Artistic Vision
MacMillan considers music to be a spiritual phenomenon with the ability to reach the soul and address the relationship between the human and the divine.
Composer's Artistic Vision
MacMillan views tradition as a "forward-looking stream," believing that a composer can look forward as a traditionalist, a perspective he finds interesting from a Marxist view of history.
Composer Biography
James MacMillan, a Scottish composer born in 1959, describes himself as a modernist, yet his music is deeply influenced by the cultural traditions of Scotland, the Catholic Church, and classical music.
Compositional Technique
The Christmas Oratorio has a strict, cathedral-like structure reminiscent of Bach's oratorios, and its two parts each consist of seven segments, creating a layered palindromic structure.
You might also enjoy...
Buddha Passion
Afghanistan - Requiem for a Generation
Wolfgang Rihm: Requiem-Strophen (Live)
PaweŁ Łukaszewski: Musica Sacra 10, Requiem
Wainwright: Dream Requiem
Willem Jeths: Requiem
Krzysztof Herdzin - REQUIEM
Cecilia McDowell: Da Vinci Requiem, Seventy Degrees Below Zero
Brusa: Orchestral Works, Vol. 5
Łukaszewski: Musica sacra 4, Missa de Maria a Magdala (Arr. for Accordion)
