‘Scotland, now more than ever, needs to hear a wide range of perspectives rather than a narrow orthodoxy.’ – Professor Sir James MacMillan
Distinguished Scottish composer and conductor, Professor Sir James MacMillan, will argue that the “search for the sacred in music is as strong today as it ever was” and is the “bravest, most radical and counter-cultural vision a creative person can have” in a lecture at Glasgow’s St. Mungo’s Museum next Thursday (19 May).
Entitled “A sober composer looks at some thistles”, the lecture is the first in a special series on Art, Science and Public Life marking the 80th anniversary year of independent charity the Saltire Society.
Best known for his sacred choral works, MacMillan is one of today’s most successful composers and is also internationally active as a conductor. His musical language is flooded with influences from his Scottish heritage, Catholic faith, social conscience and close connection with Celtic folk music, blended with influences from Far Eastern, Scandinavian and Eastern European music.
The composer intends to use the lecture to explore the visionary, the mystical, the transcendent, the inexpressible and the dark in music and other arts.
He explained: “As a composer I have always been struck by the universal search for the sacred in the work of my colleagues throughout the 20th century and now in our own time. The fact that this happens in a supposedly post-religious and now post-secular age is noteworthy and I will try to explore it in my lecture.”
MacMillan went on: “Perhaps the search now, as it was with Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius… [is an] attempt to re-sacralise the world around us.”
The lecture will be followed by a discussion with writer, critic and reviewer Stuart Kelly, who is author of ‘The Book Of Lost Books: An Incomplete Guide To All The Books You’ll Never Read’ and ‘Scott-Land: The Man Who Invented A Nation’.
Commenting on his upcoming lecture, Professor Sir James MacMillan said: “I am delighted to have been invited to contribute to the Saltire Society’s 80th anniversary celebrations. It is important, in the present climate, that Scottish advocates of the arts continue to support and celebrate an excellence that has international reach. Scotland, now more than ever, needs to hear a wide range of perspectives rather than a narrow orthodoxy.”
The Lecture will take place at 5pm on Thursday 19th May in St Mungo’s Museum, Glasgow. Tickets are available via the Saltire Society website (www.saltiresociety.org.uk/event/sir-james-macmillan) priced £10 for non-members and £5 for members.
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