This work, which forms something of a trilogy with two earlier Passion settings of composer James MacMillan, takes up the period of time after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It follows, as MacMillan has in earlier works, the pattern set down by the long tradition of Passion music running back to Heinrich Schütz and Bach, comprising declamatory, but in no way dry, solo text exposition interspersed with polyphonic choral writing in a Renaissance style (several with texts by the French Renaissance cleric Jean Tisserand). The ...
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This work, which forms something of a trilogy with two earlier Passion settings of composer James MacMillan, takes up the period of time after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It follows, as MacMillan has in earlier works, the pattern set down by the long tradition of Passion music running back to Heinrich Schütz and Bach, comprising declamatory, but in no way dry, solo text exposition interspersed with polyphonic choral writing in a Renaissance style (several with texts by the French Renaissance cleric Jean Tisserand). The new wrinkle in MacMillan's writing is the use of an extremely distinctive ensemble of cello, clarinet, horn, harp, and theorbo, along with bells on which the composer joins in. The result is a uniquely powerful piece of sacred music that combines the gravity imparted by the somewhat antique style with a personal response to the texts that culminates in moments of intense dramatic power. Sample "The Appearance on the Shore of Tiberias," track 17, to hear the ways MacMillan can...
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