Sir James MacMillan, or ‘Jimmy’, as he introduced himself to me in 1990 when I first met him aged 13, has become a fine friend alongside being a very close colleague. As well as dedicating his Percussion Concerto No.2 to me, we have done many tours together, all round Europe as well as a very memorable fortnight in New Zealand, which was as epicurean as it was artistic.
For a time, he was also my composition teacher, and upon bringing him a little set of variations for flute and vibraphone in 1992, he observed that he had just written a section of music in his new concerto with exactly that combination – the Dance Chorale of Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, the first track I’ve put on this playlist. I have recorded the work twice (until now…!), the early version a boisterous and explosive one made with the Ulster Orchestra when I was 20 years old and a much later version from 2011 made in the Netherlands, after which Jimmy and I became stranded together in Hilversum due to the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupting and the ensuing travel hiatus.
I can hear a strong link between Jimmy and Louis Andriessen, and Louis’ early work Mausoleum is featured here. Do have a listen to this masterpiece. Stronger still, perhaps, are Jimmy’s ties to early music, and so Tallis and Pérotin are featured as well as Tippett’s Corelli Fantasia which I am sure must have informed him on many levels.
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s beautiful Mass for the Endangered draws on inspiration from 7 Last Words from the Cross amongst her own perfectly distinctive language, and Judith Weir also fits into our mix as well as being another former composition teacher of mine in Glasgow. I had to finish the list with Tryst, whose finale always excites me. The compositional device of bringing the brass gesture closer and closer together one beat at a time is a great counting game. Give it a go – and enjoy.