James MacMillan: Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu" & The Sun Danced The Sixteen, Britten Sinfonia & Harry Christophers

• James MacMillan (b. 1959):
• 1The Sun Danced28:52
• Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu":
• 2Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu": I. Ruah17:38
• 3Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu": II. Zao18:15
• 4Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu": III. Igne vel igne14:05
• Total Runtime01:18:50

Info for James MacMillan: Symphony No. 5 "Le grand Inconnu" & The Sun Danced

Few living composers communicate with the emotional directness of James MacMillan. It’s no secret that MacMillan’s profound religious belief drives his creativity, but music this powerful conveys a universal message, and the title of his new symphony Le grand Inconnu suggests many possible interpretations.

Imagine a vision too wondrous for eyes alone – ‘the lady more brilliant than the sun’. ‘The lady’ is the Virgin Mary, and The Sun Danced is an ecstatic choral celebration of the Miracle of Fatima commissioned for the Celebration of the Centennial of the Apparitions in Portugal. Mary Bevan is the featured soprano for this, the premiere recording.

Harry Christophers writes: ‘By calling his new Symphony ‘Le grand Inconnu’ James has given himself that freedom to explore the mystery of the subject matter and, with repeated listening, we, the listener, discover more and more within the music… From the barely audible breathing at the start of the symphony to the first forte that is so sudden and ecstatic that it produces one of those heart pounding moments. Everything is drawn together by James into a cornucopia of sheer virtuosity and brilliance.’

The Sun Danced was commissioned by the Shrine of Fatima for the celebration of the Centennial of the Apparitions of Fatima.

The Sixteen
Genesis Sixteen
Britten Sinfonia
Mary Bevan, soprano
Harry Christophers

Mary Bevan
Hailed by the Telegraph as one of the first-rate young British singers ‘delivering consistently exciting singing’ for her stand out performances on opera and concert platforms, Mary Bevan is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music.

In the 2015-16 season Bevan sings the title role in Orpheus (Luigi Rossi) for the Royal Opera House at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre, returns to the English National Opera to sing Yum-Yum in The Mikado, and Elvira in Rossini L’italiana in Algeri at Garsington Opera. On the concert platform, Bevan will sing Silandra in Cesti Orontea with La Nuova Musica, Bach cantatas with the Dunedin Consort, Messiah with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Royal Northern Sinfonia, baroque programmes with the Academy of Ancient Music and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and Fauré Requiem with Orquestra Sinfonica de Sevilla. She will also give recitals at Wigmore Hall, Leeds Lieder, The Danube Music Festival, and Solent Music Festival.

Recent opera highlights included Bevan’s critically acclaimed Susanna The Marriage of Figaro and Despina Così fan tutte at English National Opera and Music / Euridice in Monteverdi L’Orfeo with the Royal Opera House at the Roundhouse. Previously she has also sung Belinda Dido and Aeneas with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, Galatea Acis and Galatea for Iford Arts under Christian Curnyn, Zerlina Don Giovanni for Garsington Opera, and Pamina Die Zauberflöte for West Green House. She also created the role of Lila in the world premiere of David Bruce’s The Firework Maker’s Daughter co-commissioned by The Opera Group, Opera North and Royal Opera House. Currently a Harewood Artist at the ENO, her other appearances have included Yum-Yum The Mikado, Second Niece Peter Grimes, Papagena The Magic Flute, Barbarina The Marriage of Figaro and Rebecca in the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys. A former Associate Artist of Classical Opera, she most recently performed Servilla La clemenza di Tito and Gerechtigkeit Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots.

Much in demand on the concert platform, Mary Bevan recently performed Bellezza Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno with Dunedin Consort, a Handel Residency week with Emmanuelle Haïm at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Bach Magnificat with the Britten Sinfonia, Bach St John Passion with the King’s College Choir, Cambridge, Mozart Requiem with the English Chamber Orchestra, Fauré Requiem with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Mozart Coronation Mass with Southbank Sinfonia. Other orchestral repertoire includes Mendelssohn Symphony No.2 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Stravinsky Pulcinella with the Prague Philharmonia, Britten Les Illuminations with the English Chamber Orchestra, Handel Messiah with the English Concert and English Chamber Orchestra, Bach B minor Mass with Ludus Baroque, Bach St Matthew Passion, Handel Israel in Egypt, Haydn Nelson Mass with Hanover Band and a staged version of Haydn Creation with Vocal Futures. She has also appeared at the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival and Spitalfields Festival. In recital Bevan has sung at the Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival, St John’s Smith Square and Rhinegold LIVE.

Bevan can be heard in such recent recordings as Handel in Italy with London Early Opera for Signum Records, Handel The Triumph of Time and Truth and Ode for St Cecilia’s Day with Ludus Baroque for Delphian Records, Ludwig Thuille songs with Joseph Middleton, and Mendelssohn complete songs with Malcolm Martineau for Champs Hill Records. She also appeared in David Starkey’s Music & Monarchy on BBC4.

Bevan trained at the Royal Academy Opera, and read Anglo-Saxon Norse and Celtic at Trinity College, Cambridge. She is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

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