The Music of James MacMillan

Known for his orchestral, operatic and choral works, James MacMillan (b. 1959) appeals across the spectrum of contemporary music making.

James MacMillan appeals across the spectrum of contemporary music making and is particularly celebrated for his orchestral, operatic and choral pieces. This book, published in time to mark the composer's sixtieth birthday, is thefirst in-depth look at his life, work and aesthetic. From his beginnings in rural Ayrshire and his early work with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, through the international breakthrough success ofThe Confession of Isobel Gowdie,the continuing success of works such as the percussion concertoVeni, Veni, Emmaneul and his choral pieces, to his current position as one of the most prominent British composers of his generation, the book explores MacMillan's compositional influences over time. It looks closely at his most significant works and sets them in a wider context defined by contemporary composition, culture and the arts in general.
The book also considers MacMillan's strong Catholic faith and how this has influenced his work, along with his politics and his on-going relationship with Scottish nationalism. With the support of the composer and his publisher and unprecedented access to interviews and previously unpublished materials, the book not only provides an appraisal of MacMillan's work but also insights into what it means to be a prominent composer and artist in the twenty-first century.

PHILLIP A. COOKE is a Composer and Senior Lecturer and Head of Music at the University of Aberdeen. He has previously co-editedThe Music of Herbert Howells for Boydell.

The Keening - Cumnock, Edinburgh and Durham
The Tryst - Glasgow and the road toIsobel Gowdie
Scots SongsThe Confession of Isobel Gowdie, Tuireadh andVeni, Veni, Emmanuel
A Different WorldVisitatio Sepulchri, Seven Last Words from the Cross andInés de Castro
ChangedTriduum andQuickening
Raising Sparks - 'Scotland's Shame', politics andA Scotch Bestiary
A New SongMass and MacMillan's choral renaissance
After Virtue - Symphony No. 3The Sacrifice and theSt John Passion
Serenity - Violin ConcertoClemency and theSt Luke Passion
Tu es Petrus - Bellahouston Park and the return to Cumnock
List of Works and Recordings
Bibliography
Index