Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

MacMillan’s large-scale festival settings of the "Magnificat" and "Nunc Dimittis" can be performed with organ or orchestra. The "Magnificat" was commissioned by the BBC for the first Choral Evensong of the new Millennium and the "Nunc Dimittis" by Winchester Cathedral. The choral style is simple and often homophonic (unusual for the composer) as in the celebratory Gloria. Much of the elaboration of the textual imagery occurs in the introspective, Messiaen-tinged non-choral episodes, evoking evening and birdsong.