w15136
| Title | Machar - Portrait of a Saint, Op 41A |
| Contributors |
John McLeod (composer) |
| Composition date | 2000 |
| Duration (mins) | 21 |
| Category | orchestral |
| Instrumentation | 2222 2220 2 Per Str |
| Commissioned by | Aberdeen Sinfonietta with financial assistance from the SAC. |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | |
| Notes | To Roger Williams, Bryan Dargie and members of Aberdeen Sinfonietta. |
| Programme Note | 1. Prelude 2. Easter Carol 3. Plague, Pestilence and a Miracle 4. The Great Journey ' The Calling - Passacaglia - Finale' After the premiere performances in 1999 in St Machar's Cathedral of my cantata 'The Chronicle of Saint Machar' (commissioned by Aberdeen Bach Choir), Bryan Dargie (leader of Aberdeen Sinfonietta) asked if I would consider writing an orchestral piece based on the material of the cantata. I would never have thought of this myself, but when I started to work on the possibility of creating a symphonic protrait of this great man, everything started to fall into place. And so, after living and working with this fascinating saint for two years whilst writing the cantata, it wasn't quite time to let him rest in peace! Whilst using many of the musical themes from the cantata, there is still much new material and, of course, the orchestration is entirely different. I have, however, tried to retain the chronological events in Machar's life - the Prelude which foretells his destiny; the Easter Carol which celebrates his birth; the Plague, Pestilence and a Miracle which signify his miraculous powers and The Great Journey which portrays Machar's odyssey, his incredible journey from Iona to Aberdeen and the founding of Cathedral where the River Don takes the shape of a bishop's crozier - thus fulfilling Columba's prophecy. |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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