Last December I
reviewed for MusicWeb International Seen and Heard
the UK première of MacMillan’s
St Luke Passion at a concert in
which the composer himself conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra and its choirs. The excellence of that performance was one reason
why the score made such a strong impression on me and I’m delighted to find
that the work has now made it onto disc. The present recording preserves the
world première of the work.
This is the second Passion setting that MacMillan has composed. His
St
John Passion (2008) hugely impressed me in the magnificent live
recording conducted by its dedicatee, Sir Colin Davis (
review). The
St Luke Passion is on a rather
different scale. The orchestral forces are smaller, there are no vocal
soloists and the work is nearly twenty minutes shorter in length.
Furthermore, though the new setting doesn’t pull its punches the music is
less visceral than that of the
St John Passion.
The
St John Passion is an uncompromising score which, I should
imagine, bristles with difficulties. The new work certainly presents many
challenges to the performers but I have the impression that MacMillan has
taken a conscious decision to place the music within the reach of amateur
choirs, albeit well-trained ones. He’s also scored the work for a relatively
modest orchestra of six woodwinds, two horns and two trumpets, timpani and
strings plus a very important organ part. The orchestration is surely driven
by the character of the music. However I fancy that the less extravagant
forces required may result in the
St Luke Passion being performed
rather more frequently than may be feasible in the case of MacMillan’s
earlier Passion setting.
The core text of the piece is Chapters 22 and 23 of St Luke’s Gospel,
which are set in their entirety. In other words the Passion narrative begins
as Jesus and his disciples prepare for the Last Supper and ends with Christ
expiring on the cross and the centurion exclaiming ‘Certainly this man was
innocent’. Rather unusually, however, MacMillan has added to the Passion
text some other passages from St Luke’s Gospel. The Passion narrative is
preceded by a short Prelude which is concerned with the Annunciation. At the
very end of the work there is an equally short Postlude in which the
Resurrection is implied and the Ascension is briefly narrated. There’s a
third, telling addition to the Passion Gospel text. In the middle of the
work, as Chapter 22 gives way to chapter 23 at the point where Christ has
been interrogated at the home of the High Priest and is about to face
Pilate, MacMillan has interpolated a brief phrase, ‘Do not be afraid’. This
is from Chapter 1 of Luke’s Gospel. It comes from the narrative of the
Annunciation and the words have already appeared in MacMillan’s Prologue;
repeating them here, as Christ moves towards his destiny, is very
insightful, I think. These additions are unconventional but when I first
heard the piece I thought they worked both in a scriptural and
musico-dramatic way and further acquaintance with the work has reinforced
that view. The work is sung in English and MacMillan has selected the
English translation found in the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard
Version of the Bible (1966).
The narration is sung by the adult choir. Interestingly MacMillan has set
the words of Christ for the children’s choir. The children sing either in
unison or in three-part harmony. In an interview printed in the programme
for the Birmingham performance that I attended MacMillan explained the
decision to use the children in this way: “I wanted to examine [Christ’s]
otherness, sanctity and mystery. Employing a children’s choir grants a
measure of innocence to Christ as the sacrificial lamb.” My experience in
hearing both that performance and this recording is that this device
succeeds triumphantly.
The orchestra has a vital role. I’ve now been able to appreciate the
detail in the scoring in a way that I couldn’t at the Birmingham performance
– that’s no reflection on the fine playing of the CBSO on that occasion; it
was just that there was so much to take in at a single hearing. The
orchestral writing is full of interest and dramatic import and very
colourful. On several occasions, especially at the end of each section of
the work, the orchestra takes over the argument in powerful interludes.
Hearing the work again has confirmed the practicality of MacMillan’s writing
in the way that he looks after his choir in what must be a very tricky score
to sing. The composer ensures either that the singers are given a discreet
but clear cue note from the orchestra just before an entry or else that they
are sensibly and relevantly supported by the instruments. This is a score
which is as carefully crafted as it is emotionally engaged.
First we hear a short Prelude which is concerned with the Annunciation to
Mary, as described by St Luke. MacMillan’s music depicts the beauty of the
event but also the awesome power of the announcement that God is to be made
Man. Two verses from the Magnificat are included in this section, set to
delicate and lovely music. Even more ear-catching is the slow, mysterious
music to which MacMillan sets the words ‘Blessed are you among women …’
Chapter 22 of Luke’s Gospel describes the Last Supper and institution of
the Eucharist, Gethsemane, the betrayal and arrest of Christ and his
interrogation at the house of the High Priest. The setting of Christ’s words
as he celebrates the first Eucharist is very moving, especially on account
of the innocent timbre of the children’s voices. I had forgotten how fresh
and lovely is MacMillan’s writing for the children in this score. The young
voices of National Youth Choir make a delightful sound and they sing this
far from easy music with great assurance. The only issue I have is that
their words aren’t always completely clear – this is a flaw in the singing
of the adults also.
When the narration moves to the Garden of Gethsemane there’s some very
eloquent and moving
a cappella writing for the choir in the passage
beginning ‘And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening
him.’ (Track 2, 16:39 -18:59). The music depicting the arrest is naturally
very dramatic and biting.
Chapter 23 includes the scene with Pilate, the Crucifixion and Christ’s
death and it’s no surprise when MacMillan introduces the section with
menacing music for the brass underpinned with pounding timpani. The
confrontation with Pilate is without a doubt the work of an experienced
operatic composer and the drama is intensified by gestures such as the
staggering organ chords after Pilate declares for the first time ‘I will
therefore chastise him and release him’ (track 3, 6:00). MacMillan’s
depiction of the mob’s response is outstandingly effective: their cry of
‘Crucify him’ starts very quietly but swiftly builds in intensity and volume
in a way that sounds genuinely frightening (6:39 -7:22). Though much of the
music in these pages is, of necessity, vivid and brutal there are moments of
beauty too. That’s especially true of the wonderful part-writing for the
children at ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me’ (from 10:02). The
depiction of the death of Christ (from 17:45) is very intense and when the
Gospel narrative leaves off the orchestra has a postlude of shattering
intensity built round a statement by the horns of the celebrated Passion
Chorale.
The work ends with a short Postlude depicting the Ascension. In these
pages strident dissonance – though not
all dissonance – is
banished; instead the music is positive in tone. The choir sings St Luke’s
description of the moment of the Ascension, their music derived from
plainchant. Then the orchestra concludes the work, the choir singing
wordlessly. Here the music is luminous, conveying the mystical power of
Christ’s Ascension and eventually dying away into nothing.
The first time I heard
St Luke Passion it made a powerful impact
on me. Now, with the opportunity for more detailed listening this recording
has reinforced that initial impression. This is a sincere, eloquent and
vividly communicative work. The music in no way condescends to the audience
but it speaks very directly to the listener, drawing you into the drama. I’m
in no doubt now that this is a very important work.
The present performance makes the best possible case for the piece. The
singing of both the adult and children’s choirs is magnificent while the
orchestral music – and the vital organ part – is thrillingly performed.
Markus Stenz draws a committed and energised performance from his
forces.
The SACD sound is superb. The loud passages have huge impact but the
delicate episodes register equally well and the listener can discern an
abundance of detail. There’s a good booklet note by Michel Khalifa.
Unfortunately there’s one vital omission: the text is not printed. This is a
very serious gap in the documentation because it’s essential to be able to
follow what’s going on. I was fortunate in that I could follow the words
from the concert programme I had kept after the Birmingham concert but even
so I didn’t always find it easy to make out the words that the choirs were
singing.
However, don’t let the lack of texts put you off. This is an important,
gripping score and it’s been superbly performed and recorded here. This disc
is a ‘must’ for all admirers of James MacMillan’s music and further evidence
of the effective way that Challenge Classics has championed his music in the
last few years. Dare we now hope that they will give us recordings of two
other recent choral works: the Gloria (
review) or the very recent
Seven Angels (
review)? Both are terrific works, worthy of the wider
audience that only recordings can achieve.
John Quinn
