{"product_id":"822231167129","title":"London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus - MacMillan: St John Passion - Import 2 SACD Hybrid","description":"\u003cp\u003eCredits:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLondon Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOutstanding sound. Commissioned by the LSO for Sir Colin Davis's 80th birthday: the world premiere recording of MacMillan's St John Passion\nEver since completing Seven Last Words from the Cross (1993), MacMillan had been nursing plans for a St John Passion as his next step in this territory. The complete work is in two parts and ten movements; from the first movement, \"The Arrest of Jesus\", to the ninth, \"The Death of Jesus\", soloists and chorus are involved, while the finale, Sanctus Immortalis, miserere nobis, is for orchestra alone. The texts are drawn from the Revised Standard Version in English and from the Vulgate, the standard Latin Catholic Bible.\nOne distinctive feature is that in place of Bach's Evangelist, MacMillan gives the narrative of the Gospel to a fourteen-voice chamber choir (the Narrator Chorus), separate from the main chorus, which takes the roles of Peter, Pilate and the rest. Born of constraints of time and casting, the idea proved highly effective in keeping the drama moving.\nBorn in 1959 and resident in Glasgow, MacMillan is a devout Catholic whose music is deeply rooted in socialism and in a love of Scotland. His originality shows in the way he has the Christ sung by Maltman deliver an eloquent passage full of anger and resentment: this is not a saviour going meekly to the cross, but a formidable figure of protest, railing at the stupidity of those who torment him.\nThe chorus is prepared by Joseph Cullen of the London Symphony Chorus. His deep familiarity with MacMillan's music, his close consultation with the composer from the earliest stages of composition, and his painstaking rehearsal work were indispensable to the premiere's success.\nNor should one overlook the commitment of Sir Colin Davis, dedicatee of a score completed only in November 2007 and conducting a premiere that served as the culmination of his eightieth-birthday season. The LSO's playing - epitomised by the exquisite solos of the three violinists Carmine Lauri, Lennox Mackenzie and David Alberman - holds its poise across a span of more than ninety minutes.\nThe orchestra, with a small chamber organ, maintains a consistently restrained sonority throughout, and the finale, which recalls Act III of Wagner's Parsifal, has a pure and profound beauty. [Notes supplied by King International]\n---\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LSO Live","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53595587019041,"sku":"822231167129","price":26.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/8482\/2076\/files\/822231167129.jpg?v=1790481796","url":"https:\/\/cdsvinyljapan.com\/en-sg\/products\/822231167129","provider":"CDs Vinyl Japan Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}