MacMillan, James: Intercession

The composer states that “the piece begins with a slowly falling scale of seven notes, thrown from one player to another, repeated nine times and embellished with ornamental flurries which outline a gradually evolving harmonic pattern. The repetitive nature of the music is like a peal of bells or some other kind of evocation. Eventually the music breaks out of this cyclic inevitability and heads into a faster dance-like material which in turn develops its own ritualistic recurrences.” The score and parts are intended for oboes at sounding pitch or for soprano saxophones sounding a tone lower than notated.