Rhiannon.... But Not Stevie Nicks

This is the second disk that I have of music by James MacMillan, titled The Birds Of Rhiannon and featuring the composer conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Singers under chorus master Stephen Betteridge. The title track is described as a dramatic concerto for orchestra with a mystical coda for choir and is based on an ancient Welsh legendin a mediaeval anthology of tales called The Mabinogion. It is about a warrior king who sacrifices his life to bring peace to two warring peoples and the birds are angel like beings who appear at the king's execution. The disk also features three sacred settings of the magnificat, Nunc Dimittis and an Exsultet. These feature contemplative choral settings interspersed with violent clashing organ passages played by Jonathan Scott. A common feature of MacMillan's music, I have yet to perceive the intention behind these disruptive elements. The remaining pieces on the disk are unaccompanied choral works with embellished folk melodies setting texts by the 19th century Gaelic poet Evan MacColl and by Burns. The Gaelic setting has interweaving lines whereas the Burns is deceptively simple and unadorned.