I resist the temptation to jump up and down at one of the most thrilling musical experiences of my life because, ultimately, the value of a great performance, and this was a truly great performance, is what it tells us and reveals about the music itself. And, though I know the music of MacMillan’s Passion thoroughly from its CD recording, hearing it live from this team opened window upon window onto the piece.
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BBC SSO – St John Passion, City Halls, Glasgow
AFTER the awesome performance of James MacMillan's St John Passion on Thursday night by the BBC SSO with chief conductor Donald Runnicles, baritone Mark Stone as a superlative Christus and the two choirs of the London Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers, I emerged from the City Halls into Candleriggs drenched in sweat (only partly due to the claustrophobic conditions in the packed auditorium) physically shattered, emotionally moist-eyed, intellectually uplifted and spiritually humbled.
