James MacMillan Quotes

I share a fascination for that sort of music [Tudor-era polyphony] with a whole lot of composers: Maxwell Davies, Birtwistle and the rest. There's a composer's fascination for that complex rhythm in that kind of British music. But Carver, like many British composers then, did study the works of Flemish [polyphonists] and other composers from other cultures.
James MacMillan

A lot of pieces undergo years of gestation. Once a piece is commissioned, I need a sense of objectivity and distance so that I can have an overview, so I can feel and see what the line and structure of a piece is going to be. Therefore the structural thinking of a potential piece is just as important as anything. I think in terms of drama and shape, structure and emotion. The building blocks of this piece were simple — different harmonizations, different textures. It's sculptural. So that was a huge step along the way.
James MacMillan