JAMES MACMILLAN: Christmas Oratorio – Hungarian première

Mary Bevan soprano
Leigh Melrose baritone
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)

Conductor: Sir James MacMillan

The Catholic Scottish composer Sir James MacMillan was born in Kilwinning in 1959 and completed his higher education at the universities of Edinburgh and Durham. He has composed music, including operas, cantatas, concertos, choral works, solo and chamber compositions commissioned by many world-famous musicians, ranging from Evelyn Glennie to Mstislav Rostropovich, and conducted by such illustrious maestros as Colin Davis. Now he will be coming to conduct the Hungarian premiere of his 2021 Christmas Oratorio, a work that strives to make the beauty of contemporary music widely accessible, alongside the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, with Mary Bevan and Leigh Melrose as the soloists.

Christmas Oratorio. This is a term that immediately makes most music students think, conceptually, of Bach or Heinrich Schütz. This concert by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir offers an opportunity to get to know a 21st-century work about the birth of Jesus. Sir James MacMillan is a Scottish Catholic composer who was born in Kilwinning, near Glasgow, in 1959. He studied music composition at the universities of Edinburgh and Durham. He has received commissions from many British orchestras and written concertos for such artists as Evelyn Glennie and Mstislav Rostropovich. Many of his works are deeply spiritual in nature, often drawing on his Catholic faith. He has written several masses, as well as his Magnificat. His Christmas Oratorio dates from 2021 and strives for a beautiful modern sound that remains accessible for contemporary audiences. Joining the Hungarian National Philharmonic in this performance will be two outstanding British soloists: soprano Mary Bevan and baritone Leigh Melrose. And taking the podium to assure the production’s crediblity will be the composer himself: Sir James MacMillan.