description Quickening (MacMillan) Overview
Quickening (1999) by James MacMillan is a work for children's choir, adult chorus, and orchestra setting texts centred on the Annunciation and the mystery of human life.
help Quickening (MacMillan) FAQ
What forces are required for James MacMillan's Quickening?
Quickening uses children's choir, adult chorus, orchestra, and several solo vocal parts, including countertenor, two tenors, and two baritones. It is therefore a large-scale cantata rather than a short unaccompanied choir piece.
What is Quickening about?
The text centers on the Annunciation and the mystery of human life. MacMillan sets those ideas through contrasting choral and orchestral passages that move between sacred reflection and more dramatic intensity.
When was Quickening first performed?
The world premiere took place on 5 September 1999 at London's Royal Albert Hall. Andrew Davis conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with the Hilliard Ensemble and Westminster Cathedral Boys' Choir.
Is Quickening suitable for an ordinary chamber choir?
It is a substantial concert work requiring children's and adult choirs, orchestra, and multiple soloists. A small chamber choir would normally encounter it through selected excerpts or a specialized performance rather than a standard short-program setting.
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