MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross

Featuring

Stephen Layton
James Vivian
Elin Manahan Thomas
Polyphony
Britten Sinfonia
James MacMillan

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Recording & Production

This album includes first recordings of MacMillan's 'On the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin' (1997) and 'Te Deum' (2001).

Compositional Technique

To expand the short biblical texts of the Seven Last Words, MacMillan added complementary texts from various liturgical sources, such as Palm Sunday Exclamations and Good Friday Responsories.

Composer's Artistic Vision

MacMillan is influenced by Messiaen, who looked to the transcendent, and Shostakovich, who looked to the abyss, finding balance between these extremes important.

Composer's Artistic Vision

MacMillan believes that music should transform people's lives, using the word 'transubstantiation' as a metaphor for the spiritual transformation he desires in serious listeners.

Composer Biography

James MacMillan cites Kenneth Leighton, his secondary school choir director and later professor at Edinburgh University, as a formative influence from his teenage years.

Composition History

Seven Last Words from the Cross was commissioned by BBC television for broadcast in seven separate episodes during Holy Week in 1994.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Unlike 'holy minimalists' like Tavener, Pärt, and Górecki, MacMillan believes the sacred is rooted in the 'grit and mire of human existence,' not in avoiding conflict.