Piano Concerto No. 3 (MacMillan)
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The Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Orchestra "The Mysteries of Light" is the third piano concerto by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra and was first performed on April 14, 2011 in Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, by the pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Minnesota Orchestra under the conductor Osmo Vänskä.[1][2][3]
Background
MacMillan described the conception of the piece in the score program notes, writing:
My 3rd Piano Concerto, The Mysteries of Light, attempts to revive the ancient practice of writing music based on the structure of the Rosary. The most famous example of this is the collection of the Rosary (or Mystery) Sonatas for violin by Heinrich Biber, written in the late 17th century. These consist of 15 movements based on the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries. In 2002 another set of meditations were introduced by John Paul II, the Luminous Mysteries, and these are the basis of the five sections of this concerto.[1]
Structure
The Piano Concerto No. 3 has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is composed in five connected sections:
- Baptisma Iesu Christi
- Miraculum in Cana
- Proclamatio Regni Dei
- Transfiguratio Domini Nostri
- Institutio Eucharistiae
Instrumentation
The work is scored for solo piano and an orchestra comprising three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones (3rd on bass trombone), tuba, timpani, three percussionists, harp, and strings.[1]
