Search - James [2] MacMillan, Stephen Layton, Britten Sinfonia :: MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross

Wonderful music

Aquinas | celestial heights, UK | 05/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"MacMillan has a wonderful inner understanding of sacred music, informed (I assume) by his Catholic faith. The Seven Last Words from the Cross are stunning, a brilliant admixture of old and new.



Track 3 (Verily, I say unto thee, thous shall be with me in Paradise) derserves a particular mention. The "ecce lignum crucis" (proclaiming darkness) is stunningly interwoven with the thrice proclaimed acclamation of "venite adoremus". Its the "venite adoremus" with its wafting neo-romantic violin solo and Brittenesque strings (reminding me very much of the famous quartet in Peter Grimes: "do we cry or do we weep" and perhaps of Brahms)that grabs you: how can this be so, how can we have crucified the "Son of Man" - the shock of it all is ironically captured more decisively through the most delicate and gentle of music although the horror is also captured in other movements through the strings (echoing Bartok).Be warned: this is a real tear jerker!



The last movement captures the death of Christ beautifully with the life draining slowly from his body, depicted through intermittent glistening of strings.



The Te Deum (last track) strongly recalls Britten.

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