Premiere of James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater

Saturday 15 October 2016 sees the world premiere performance of James MacMillan’s Stabat Mater at the Barbican Centre, London as part of a whole day of programming around his choral music. Commissioned by the Genesis Foundation for Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, MacMillan’s new composition is the culmination and climax of a three-year project by the Genesis Foundation dedicated to the Stabat Mater.

MacMillan’s Stabat Mater will then tour with Harry Christophers and The Sixteen to Saffron Waldon (Saffron Hall, Sunday 16 October), Norwich (St Andrew’s Hall, Tuesday 18 October), Manchester (Bridgewater Hall, Friday 28 October) and, in 2017, to Edinburgh (Queen’s Hall, Thursday 23 March) and Glasgow (Royal Concert Hall, Friday 24 March) where MacMillan will be joined by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

The Stabat Mater project began in 2014 with Stabat Mater: Spirit, Strength and Sorrow which saw three young composers Alissa Firsova, Tõnu Kõrvits and Matthew Martin commissioned by the Genesis Foundation and mentored by James Macmillan and Harry Christophers. The three commissioned pieces were premiered in London and recorded by Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, and later released on CD under the Sixteen’s own label CORO. Read more.

 “MacMillan conducted his own music that was ceaselessly inventive, evocative and penetrating…His estimable mastery of orchestral timbre and effect was evident throughout.”

New York Times

For more information about the world premiere of MacMillan’s Stabat Mater and tickets, click here

To read more about the longstanding relationship between James MacMillan and the Genesis Foundation, click here

Listen to Harry Christophers and John Studzinski on Resonance FM talking about Stabat Mater by James MacMillan: