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Quickening (MacMillan)

January 20, 2023

Quickening is a cantata for countertenor, two tenors, two baritones, children's choir, chorus, and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was co-commissioned by The Proms and the Philadelphia Orchestra and was completed in 1998. Its world premiere was performed by the Hilliard Ensemble, the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, and the Westminster Cathedral Boys' Choir under the direction of Andrew Davis at Royal Albert Hall, London, on 5 September 1999.[1] The journalist Damian Thompson of The Spectator described it as "one of MacMillan's masterpieces."[2]

Composition

Background

Quickening is set to text by the British poet and frequent MacMillan collaborator Michael Symmons Roberts.[3][4] It is written in Aramaic and English, but also features the use of glossolalia (speaking in tongues). The religious theme of the work draws upon the phenomenon of childbirth, with a boys' choir particularly used to evoke the journey of an unborn child.[1][5]

Structure

The piece has a duration of roughly 48 minutes and is composed in four movements:

  1. Incarnadine
  2. Midwife
  3. Poppies
  4. Living Water

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a countertenor, two tenors, baritone, children's choir, SATB chorus, and a large orchestra consisting of two flutes, piccolo, three oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais), three clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, harp, piano (doubling celesta), chamber organ, grand organ (or synthesizer), and strings.[1]

Reception

Quickening has been highly praised by many music critics. Reviewing the United States premiere in Philadelphia, Peter Dobrin of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "The best thing about Quickening - one of the orchestra's centennial commissions - is that it is very much of our time. MacMillan's musical language is all his own, and the emotional message behind it speaks for this era in a way that very few works do. It's chaotic, vaguely spiritual, obstreperous, and full of simultaneously conflicting messages about what we should be feeling." Despite noting that "a lot of the concrete associations [MacMillan] tries to get across in the piece didn't ring true" with him, Dobrin concluded, "But music doesn't need, or even always benefit from, a tangible relationship with real life. The pure sonic experience is more than enough reason to justify the investment of mental adrenaline needed to listen."[6]

John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune later described the piece as an "arresting meditation" and wrote, "None of MacMillan's effects come across as meretricious, certainly not the murmurous Babel of mixed choral voices at the beginning or the magical hush of 'unborn' children's voices with solo violin at the end. Those two sections, 'Incarnadine' and 'Living Waters,' frame two darker central tableaux, 'Midwife' and 'Poppies,' that erupt in spasms of orchestral agitation undergirding powerful surges of choral declamation."[7] Lawrence A. Johnson of the Chicago Classical Review similarly remarked, "Quickening is a big, complex and multifaceted work with a lot to take in at first hearing. MacMillan's distinctive brand of musical 'muscular Christianity' is here at his most flamboyant and audacious, with largely successful results. The composer wields his vast forces with skill and panache, particularly in his writing for brass and his favored percussion, often making a dazzling and brilliant effect."[8] Andrew Achenbach of Gramophone called it, "A powerful experience, in sum, and a work well worth getting to know."[9]

Putting a contrary view (reviewing the work's première) was John Allison in The Times,[10] who found the work "..."big" only in terms of its duration and the vast forces it employs: the absence of developed, large-scale ideas in MacMillan's music is becoming a worrying trend...". Allison went on to say that "the score is no greater than the sum of its parts: acclaim has come easily to MacMillan, but now it is surely time for less self-indulgence".

Recording

A recording of Quickening was released through Chandos Records on 27 January 2009. The recording was performed by the Hilliard Ensemble, the CBSO Chorus & youth chorus, and the BBC Philharmonic under the direction of MacMillan.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c MacMillan, James (1998). "Quickening". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. ^ Thompson, Damian (4 December 2010). "MacMillan's loyalty". The Spectator. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  3. ^ Harries, Rhiannon (12 April 2008). "How We Met: James MacMillan & Michael Symmons Roberts". The Independent. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  4. ^ Smyth, Gerard (10 September 2014). "Michael Symmons Roberts: a religious poet in the secular age". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  5. ^ Stearns, David Patrick (18 April 2002). "New birth for his grand choral work". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  6. ^ Dobrin, Peter (20 April 2002). "MacMillan's 'Quickening' offers an earful very much of the times". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ^ Rhein, John von (27 June 2015). "Review: Grant Park Chorus sings of the wonder, mystery of birth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  8. ^ Johnson, Lawrence A. (27 June 2015). "A stormy yet brilliant birth for MacMillan premiere at Grant Park". Chicago Classical Review. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  9. ^ a b Achenbach, Andrew (March 2009). "MacMillan Quickening". Gramophone. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  10. ^ September 7, 1999, p.44

January 20, 2023
quickening, macmillan, quickening, cantata, countertenor, tenors, baritones, children, choir, chorus, orchestra, scottish, composer, james, macmillan, work, commissioned, proms, philadelphia, orchestra, completed, 1998, world, premiere, performed, hilliard, en. Quickening is a cantata for countertenor two tenors two baritones children s choir chorus and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan The work was co commissioned by The Proms and the Philadelphia Orchestra and was completed in 1998 Its world premiere was performed by the Hilliard Ensemble the BBC Symphony Orchestra amp Chorus and the Westminster Cathedral Boys Choir under the direction of Andrew Davis at Royal Albert Hall London on 5 September 1999 1 The journalist Damian Thompson of The Spectator described it as one of MacMillan s masterpieces 2 Contents 1 Composition 1 1 Background 1 2 Structure 1 3 Instrumentation 2 Reception 3 Recording 4 See also 5 ReferencesComposition EditBackground Edit Quickening is set to text by the British poet and frequent MacMillan collaborator Michael Symmons Roberts 3 4 It is written in Aramaic and English but also features the use of glossolalia speaking in tongues The religious theme of the work draws upon the phenomenon of childbirth with a boys choir particularly used to evoke the journey of an unborn child 1 5 Structure Edit The piece has a duration of roughly 48 minutes and is composed in four movements Incarnadine Midwife Poppies Living WaterInstrumentation Edit The work is scored for a countertenor two tenors baritone children s choir SATB chorus and a large orchestra consisting of two flutes piccolo three oboes 3rd doubling cor anglais three clarinets 3rd doubling bass clarinet two bassoons contrabassoon four horns four trumpets three trombones tuba timpani four percussionists harp piano doubling celesta chamber organ grand organ or synthesizer and strings 1 Reception EditQuickening has been highly praised by many music critics Reviewing the United States premiere in Philadelphia Peter Dobrin of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote The best thing about Quickening one of the orchestra s centennial commissions is that it is very much of our time MacMillan s musical language is all his own and the emotional message behind it speaks for this era in a way that very few works do It s chaotic vaguely spiritual obstreperous and full of simultaneously conflicting messages about what we should be feeling Despite noting that a lot of the concrete associations MacMillan tries to get across in the piece didn t ring true with him Dobrin concluded But music doesn t need or even always benefit from a tangible relationship with real life The pure sonic experience is more than enough reason to justify the investment of mental adrenaline needed to listen 6 John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune later described the piece as an arresting meditation and wrote None of MacMillan s effects come across as meretricious certainly not the murmurous Babel of mixed choral voices at the beginning or the magical hush of unborn children s voices with solo violin at the end Those two sections Incarnadine and Living Waters frame two darker central tableaux Midwife and Poppies that erupt in spasms of orchestral agitation undergirding powerful surges of choral declamation 7 Lawrence A Johnson of the Chicago Classical Review similarly remarked Quickening is a big complex and multifaceted work with a lot to take in at first hearing MacMillan s distinctive brand of musical muscular Christianity is here at his most flamboyant and audacious with largely successful results The composer wields his vast forces with skill and panache particularly in his writing for brass and his favored percussion often making a dazzling and brilliant effect 8 Andrew Achenbach of Gramophone called it A powerful experience in sum and a work well worth getting to know 9 Putting a contrary view reviewing the work s premiere was John Allison in The Times 10 who found the work big only in terms of its duration and the vast forces it employs the absence of developed large scale ideas in MacMillan s music is becoming a worrying trend Allison went on to say that the score is no greater than the sum of its parts acclaim has come easily to MacMillan but now it is surely time for less self indulgence Recording EditA recording of Quickening was released through Chandos Records on 27 January 2009 The recording was performed by the Hilliard Ensemble the CBSO Chorus amp youth chorus and the BBC Philharmonic under the direction of MacMillan 9 See also EditList of compositions by James MacMillanReferences Edit a b c MacMillan James 1998 Quickening Boosey amp Hawkes Retrieved 21 July 2016 Thompson Damian 4 December 2010 MacMillan s loyalty The Spectator Retrieved 21 July 2016 Harries Rhiannon 12 April 2008 How We Met James MacMillan amp Michael Symmons Roberts The Independent Retrieved 21 July 2016 Smyth Gerard 10 September 2014 Michael Symmons Roberts a religious poet in the secular age The Irish Times Retrieved 21 July 2016 Stearns David Patrick 18 April 2002 New birth for his grand choral work The Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved 21 July 2016 Dobrin Peter 20 April 2002 MacMillan s Quickening offers an earful very much of the times The Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved 21 July 2016 Rhein John von 27 June 2015 Review Grant Park Chorus sings of the wonder mystery of birth Chicago Tribune Retrieved 21 July 2016 Johnson Lawrence A 27 June 2015 A stormy yet brilliant birth for MacMillan premiere at Grant Park Chicago Classical Review Retrieved 21 July 2016 a b Achenbach Andrew March 2009 MacMillan Quickening Gramophone Retrieved 21 July 2016 September 7 1999 p 44 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Quickening MacMillan amp oldid 1120462719, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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