Christmas Oratorio (MacMillan)

The Christmas Oratorio has been highly praised by music critics. Reviewing the United Kingdom premiere, Boyd Tonkin of The Arts Desk wrote, "Within its generous, eclectic and impassioned 100 minutes, it packs a seasonal feast of wonderfully rich and accessible music."^[2] Fiona Maddocks of The Guardian similarly remarked, "The entire composition [...] is riven with short fortissimo outbursts as brutal as the four-part choral writing is at times exquisite and hushed. The babe-in-manger chorus at the start of Part 2, O magnum mysterium, from the matins for Christmas Day, could stand alone, though this majestic work deserves full performance."^[3]

Terry Blain of BBC Music Magazine declared the oratorio "one of MacMillan's finest ever pieces," adding, "The spiritual charge of MacMillan's Oratorio is made palpable, its heady mix of wonder, trepidation and profound mystery stirringly captured."^[4] Richard Bratby of The Spectator further praised the piece, remarking:

It's vigorous, unsentimental and completely unapologetic — a royal feast for a celebration on a cosmic scale. And how! The table overflows, with MacMillan's teeming influences functioning not as sonic fancy dress but as guests at the banquet, very much alive and doing what they've always done, with renewed power. Bach is the most obvious presence: the Oratorio's evening-long span harks back to Johann Sebastian's own gloriously over-filled Christmas Oratorio. But you'll also bump into Holst, Britten, Haydn and Beethoven, all glass in hand and delighted to see you. There are raucous shouts from Janacek and sudden, blinding glimpses of Olivier Messiaen. It goes further: when MacMillan alludes to plainchant, it's never in inverted commas. It's urgent and unselfconscious. He means it, and you can tell.^[5]

A recording of the United Kingdom premiere of the Christmas Oratorio, performed by the soprano Lucy Crowe, the baritone Roderick Williams, and the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder, was released through the LPO record label on 4 November 2022.^[4]