James MacMillan - Seven Last Words From The Cross / Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (2019)

Concert recording from February 2019, in which Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan celebrated his 60th birthday conducting two of his major works with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and percussionist Colin Currie, who's made a couple of appearances on these pages before.  As a prelude to his own music, MacMillan chose Arvo Pärt's Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten, with its solemn bell tolls caught up in the swirl of the gorgeous orchestral parts.

Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (1992) is based on a plainchant piece that bears that name, and it's a percussion concerto originally written for another Scottish player, Evelyn Glennie.  Currie here describes his extensive percussion rig and the various voices used throughout the piece, then turns in a storming performance.  The propulsive energy of the work reminded me in places of Steve Martland.  The second half of the concert is given over to MacMillan's epic cantata Seven Last Words From The Cross, commissioned by the BBC in 1994.  In its sections, the work covers the gospel texts tackled by numerous other composers over the centuries - Sofia Gubaidulina is one who's appeared here - and is a stirring, engrossing journey.

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City Of London Sinfonia/Truro Cathedral Choir - The Fruit Of Silence At Truro Cathedral (2019)

Music of quiet, austere beauty, recorded a year ago this week on a tour by the London Sinfonia.  Whilst exploring the acoustics of some of the UK's legendary cathedrals, they arrived at this Gothic Revival one in Cornwall and were joined by Truro Cathedral Choir.  The ensemble and choir perform at varying locations around the cathedral, to fully exploit its natural resonances.

The programme alternates between choral music and chamber music, taking in 20th and 21st century composers from Peteris Vasks (whose twice-performed piece in different versions gives the concert its title), Eric Whitacre, and Russel Pascoe to John Tavener and Dobrinka Tabakova, whose Centuries Of Meditations suite is the stunning closer (her string quintet Organum Light is another highlight).  Even though he's just represented here by instrumental music, the influence of Arvo Pärt casts a long shadow over all the composers of the choral works.  If you like Pärt, prepare for 70 minutes of heavenly sounds.

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