James MacMillan: St John Passion (LSO LIVE Audio CD)  

Christopher Maltman baritone
London Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis



When Sir Colin Davis was asked to select a composer to write a new work for his 80th birthday he chose James MacMillan. MacMillan had previously considered writing a passion and used the opportunity of the commission to produce a setting based on the Gospel of St John.

The result is a highly dramatic passion, fusing MacMillan’s own Catholic faith, compositional style and musical influences with the long tradition of settings for the passion of Christ in both the Catholic and Lutherean faiths. In addition to the choir and orchestra, MacMillan uses a small choir of professional singers to provide the narration and a solitary baritone soloist to portray Christus.


Concert reviews:

‘a blazing blockbuster, a piece as fiercely communicative as anything the 48-year-old MacMillan has written before … Davis gripped this new challenge with ease. But MacMillan won the night’s Oscar for making contemporary music matter. He undoubtedly deserved his standing ovation’
The Times

‘It is not often you see the Archbishop of Canterbury lead a standing ovation, but Dr Rowan Williams was among the first on their feet at the Barbican last week when James MacMillan took his bow after the world premiere of his monumental St John Passion. Clearly, the archbishop shared the ecstatic audience’s view that a great new work had entered the repertoire. The spectre of Bach hovers over any attempt to refresh the Passion story, but MacMillan, a devout Catholic, is equal to the challenge, such is his reverence for the material and his mastery of choral writing. MacMillan’s writing made huge demands on the London Symphony Chorus, but they sang with distinction, producing some inspiring sound, particularly in the ravishing tone clusters of the opening pages. Chief credit for the night’s success should go to Joseph Cullen, the LSC’s director, who not only rehearsed the chorus, but also selected and trained thesuperb professional narrator choir’
The Observer