Record of the day: James MacMillan, “Symphony No. 3”
James MacMillan, “Symphony N° 3” (Cd Chandos CHAN 10275)
A very popular composer in the United Kingdom (but also the United States, Japan, Australia and much of Europe have recognized his great talent for several years), James MacMillan is one of the most performed contemporary composers in concert halls. His orchestral and choral music, despite not winking at listeners in any way, always achieves strong public success and there are now numerous recordings dedicated to his music. Furthermore, for several years MacMillan has revealed remarkable abilities as a conductor, amply demonstrated also in this beautiful album which combines two great orchestral pieces which are found at the extremes of this musician’s career.
In fact, “The Confession of Isobel Gowdie” (1990) was the song that forcefully imposed him on the Anglo-Saxon music scene, revealing a strong and perfectly accomplished personality that managed to take inspiration both from the experience of the English post-war avant-garde (in particular Birtwistle, Goehr and Maxwell Davies) with melodic influences derived from Scottish folk music that MacMillan knew very well, having also sung with many folk groups while studying composition with John Casken. The popular element is the real DNA of the music of this great author, who shuns both banal languages and useless complexities, always supported by a talent of great instrumental theatricality, which forcefully sculpts the characters of the figures, made even more plastic and highlighted by his extraordinary skills as an orchestrator.
“The Confession” is inspired by an episode of witchcraft that occurred in medieval Scotland but has nothing purely illustrative about it, taking the form of a sort of modern symphonic poem full of ideas, with an absolutely spectacular writing virtuosity. At the chronological opposite is the “Symphony N°3 «Silence»”, from 2002; in recent years MacMillan’s style has become very dry, with frequent use of small instrumental groups in a more chamber-like and transparent dimension. The style is now unmistakable, open to broad melodic perorations, which are increasingly followed by more rarefied moments, partly inspired by the tradition of Japanese music (the Symphony was composed for the NHK orchestra in Tokyo).
Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.
This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.
