James MacMillan
James MacMillan is among the leading Scottish composers of modern times, with performances of his work often occurring around the U.K. and beyond. He is also active as a conductor.
MacMillan was born in Kilwinning, in Scotland's North Ayrshire region, on July 16, 1959, but most of his childhood was spent in Cumnock, East Ayrshire. His family was working-class and was devoted to the Catholic church. MacMillan attended the University of Edinburgh, studying composition with Rita McAllister and Kenneth Leighton, then moved to Durham University for studies with John Casken. He earned an undergraduate degree at Durham and then a PhD in 1987. By that time, he had already begun teaching as a lecturer at Victoria University in Manchester, England. In 1988, his music theater piece Búsqueda was performed at the Edinburgh International Festival. MacMillan scored a major breakthrough in 1990 when his orchestral work The Confession of Isobel Gowdie, a tone poem about a woman accused of witchcraft and eventually executed, was played by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms summer concerts.
The success of those works led to more commissions for MacMillan, some of them from major soloists. His percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (1992) was composed for percussionist Evelyn Glennie and has since been performed by many other musicians. Mstislav Rostropovich premiered MacMillan's cello concerto in 1997. MacMillan has written several operas and a large amount of sacred music, including a Magnificat (1999), the Mass for 2000 (commissioned by Westminster Cathedral and including passages for congregational singers), the Strathclyde Motets (2008), and a widely praised Stabat mater (2016); Catholicism has continued to exert a strong influence on his work. Another strand of MacMillan's style comes from Scottish traditional music, which may be combined with modernist dissonance. MacMillan has remained active as a conductor, leading the BBC Philharmonic from 2000 to 2009 and appearing as a guest with other major orchestras in Britain, the U.S., and other countries, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. MacMillan was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2004. MacMillan has remained possibly more prolific than ever in late middle age, issuing a Christmas Oratorio and the 40-part motet Vidi aquam in 2019.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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James MacMillan : Stabat Mater
Britten Sinfonia, The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Coro on Mar 3, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Lost Songs Of St Kilda
Trevor Morrison, Scottish Festival Orchestra, James MacMillan
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) (Classics) on Sep 9, 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
James MacMillan: Violin Concerto & Symphony No. 4
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Donald Runnicles, Vadim Repin
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Oct 21, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MacMillan: The Birds of Rhiannon, Exsultet, Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, Màiri & The Gallant Weaver
James MacMillan, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Scott, BBC Singers
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Aug 1, 2002
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Northern Skies
Classical - Released by Deux-Elles Limited on May 7, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MacMillan: The Confession of Isobel Gowdie & Symphony No. 3
James MacMillan, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MaCMILLAN: Magnificat / Nunc dimittis / Exsultet / The Gallant Weaver / The Birds of Rhiannon
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Aug 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonie N° 3 - The confession of Isobel Gowdie
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, James MacMillan
Symphonic Music - Released by Chandos on Jan 1, 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Quickening - The Sacrifice
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilliard Ensemble, James MacMillan, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jan 5, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
James MacMillan: Work for Chamber Orchestra with Soloists
Julius Berger, Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer, Linus Roth
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on May 2, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MACMILLAN, J.: Into the Ferment / The Berserking / Britannia
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Martin Roscoe, James MacMillan
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Macmillan, J.: Scotch Bestiary (A) / Piano Concerto No. 2
Wayne Marshall, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, James MacMillan
Concertos - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Spires Resound
The Choir of the Queen's College Oxford
Classical - Released by OxRecs DIGITAL on Sep 18, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MacMillan: Piano Concerto No. 2 & A Scotch Bestiary
James MacMillan, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Wayne Marshall
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MacMillan: Magnificat (MacMillan Series, Vol. 2)
James MacMillan, Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, Netherlands Radio Choir
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Apr 5, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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MacMillan: Into the Ferment, The Berserking & Britannia
James MacMillan, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Martin Roscoe
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo