Sir Colin Davis conducts James Macmillan's St. John Passion with the BSO

Sircolin
Sir Colin Davis

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Friday, January 22, 8 p.m.

James Macmillan, 

St. John Passion
 (American premiere; BSO co-commission)
Sir Colin Davis, conductor
Christopher Maltman, baritone
Tanglewood Festival Chorus
John Oliver, conductor

For more details about James MacMillan, his background, and his purposes in writing his St. John Passion, I'll refer the reader to the review of the superb LSO Live recording of the work, which I reviewed as an introduction to this concert, its U.S. premiere. MacMillan wrote the Passion as an 80th birthday tribute to Sir Colin Davis, and it was jointly commissioned by the London and Boston Symphony Orchestras. An Ayrshire Catholic of Irish extraction, James MacMillan became connected to music early, and his experience with the Passion according to St. John goes back to the traditional chanted readings of the text as part of the Good Friday liturgy. While most of the work consists straightforwardly of the Gospel narrative and the Improperia from the Roman Catholic Good Friday Mass, its selection and musical treatment are highly personal, giving it a dramatic and humanistic quality, which must please Sir Colin no end.

Read the full article on the Berkshire Review for the Arts!

Michael Miller