The Confession of Isobel Gowdie
Encyclopedia
The Confession of Isobel Gowdie is a work for large symphony orchestra by the Scottish
composer James MacMillan
.
It is, according to the composer, a Requiem
for one Isobel Gowdie
, supposedly burnt as a witch in post-Reformation
Scotland. Despite the work's depiction of the violent torture and execution of Gowdie, it is actually thought that no torture took place following her confession.
It was written in 1990 and premiered at that year's Proms
concerts in London
. It was an instant success, receiving, according to the critic Stephen Johnson, "an ovation the like of which had rarely been seen at a British premiere since the death of Benjamin Britten
".
The work falls into three major sections: an opening, elegaic string section, followed by a violent middle part (according to Johnson, redolent of "trial, torture or mass hysteria") followed by a return to the more subdued atmosphere of the opening for strings, but this time punctuated by violent outbursts from the full orchestra. It resolves on one note, in a massive crescendo
to fffff
which bears the hallmark of a similar motif in Alban Berg
's Wozzeck
.
The work was premiered by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
, under Jerzy Maksymiuk
, who later recorded it. It has been performed and recorded many times since, including repeat performances by the BBC SSO, and the RSAMD Symphony Orchestra in the composers 50th birthday celebrations.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
composer James MacMillan
James MacMillan (musician)
James MacMillan CBE is a Scottish classical composer and conductor.-Early life:MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977....
.
It is, according to the composer, a Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
for one Isobel Gowdie
Isobel Gowdie
Isobel Gowdie was a Scottish woman who was tried for witchcraft in 1662. Her detailed confession, apparently achieved without the use of torture, offers one of the most detailed looks at European witchcraft folklore at the end of the era of witch-hunts....
, supposedly burnt as a witch in post-Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
Scotland. Despite the work's depiction of the violent torture and execution of Gowdie, it is actually thought that no torture took place following her confession.
It was written in 1990 and premiered at that year's Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
concerts in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was an instant success, receiving, according to the critic Stephen Johnson, "an ovation the like of which had rarely been seen at a British premiere since the death of Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
".
The work falls into three major sections: an opening, elegaic string section, followed by a violent middle part (according to Johnson, redolent of "trial, torture or mass hysteria") followed by a return to the more subdued atmosphere of the opening for strings, but this time punctuated by violent outbursts from the full orchestra. It resolves on one note, in a massive crescendo
Crescendo
-In music:*Crescendo, a passage of music during which the volume gradually increases, see Dynamics * Crescendo , a Liverpool-based electronic pop band* "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", one of Duke Ellington's longer-form compositions...
to fffff
Dynamics (music)
In music, dynamics normally refers to the volume of a sound or note, but can also refer to every aspect of the execution of a given piece, either stylistic or functional . The term is also applied to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics...
which bears the hallmark of a similar motif in Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
.
The work was premiered by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is a broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow, Scotland. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation , it is the oldest full-time professional orchestra in Scotland...
, under Jerzy Maksymiuk
Jerzy Maksymiuk
Jerzy Maksymiuk is a Polish orchestra conductor.Maksymiuk studied violin, piano, conducting and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1964 he won first prize in the Paderewski Piano Composition. Conducting soon became his principal career...
, who later recorded it. It has been performed and recorded many times since, including repeat performances by the BBC SSO, and the RSAMD Symphony Orchestra in the composers 50th birthday celebrations.