John 17: 20-23 (Vulgate) (L)
Abbreviations (PDF)
Boosey & Hawkes
Choral level of difficulty: 4 (5 greatest)
Commissioned by Cappella Caeciliana of Belfast in celebration of the group’s twentieth anniversary in 2015. Its three founding ‘Fathers’ (all Catholic Priests) lie at the heart of MacMillan’s setting which features two tenors and a bass soloist as well as a trio of high soprano soloists at two points. The text is from St John and is set in Latin. The title (‘That they all may be one’) is beautifully realized in the opening phrase where MacMillan opens with rich eight-part chords leading from D major into the all-enveloping warmth of F major as a truly comforting resolution.
As with all MacMillan’s choral works it is fascinating to see his imagination take flight from the text and to hear the passion with which it is conceived flow from the music – and flow is what he does so expertly. It is part of what marks his music out from so many others – his ability with counterpoint, connecting him with a long distant past and informing his music with classic procedures used in new ways which are entirely personal to him.
This is another work which needs a confident approach and will probably be best tackled by a choir enjoying more challenging repertoire. The three soloists will need to be both confident and have voices which will mark them out as soloists in the ensemble. They are distinct roles. The top solo soprano of the trio mentioned needs to be able to sing a long nine-beat top A piano.
Repertoire Note by Paul Spicer