Where the Lugar meets the Glaisnock

The title of this work refers to the little Ayrshire town of Cumnock where I grew up. Two rivers (the Lugar and the Glaisnock) meet in this place. This is a concertante piece for solo euphonium and strings, and is an affectionate musical memory of my early years there. It is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather George Loy, a coal miner in the town and an amateur euphonium player who played in colliery bands in the area in the first half of the twentieth century. The piece is also dedicated to the soloist David Childs who commissioned the music.

Written in one through-composed movement lasting about 25 minutes it begins with a slow, expressive and solitary solo from the euphonium before being joined by some solo string players. The music begins to ebb and flow as the full ensemble join in. The mood becomes more animated before going through the first of many metric modulations which throw the music forward into faster tempi.

Gradually there is more and more energy before a series of loud, violent chords takes us back to the opening slow tempo. Here now though, the melodies seem more sonorous and song-like, evoking the folk song and plainchant which have figured so much in my music over the years.

The metric modulations pick up again, pushing the music forward into ever faster territory. Slower music intervenes again, chorale-like and ecstatic on the strings but eventually accompanying the soloist with soft, ponderous chords which rise from the lowest to the highest orchestral sounds. The opening melody returns for a final time before the music culminates in an unexpected coda - joyous, motoric and repetitive on the strings with frantic, virtuosic bursts of energy on the euphonium. The final moments are serene.

James MacMillan, 2025

Reproduction Rights:
This note can be reproduced in concert programmes with a credit to the composer