Veni, veni Emmanuel

James MacMillan’s percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel pits a large array of percussion instruments against a full orchestra. The half-hour piece, which was premiered in 1992 by soloist Evelyn Glennie at London's Royal Albert Hall, has become one of the most popular concertos of its time. It employs short motifs that allude to the 15th-century Advent hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, extending, shortening or repeating them. Completed on Easter Sunday in 1992, Veni has a strong religious backbone, though it can also be appreciated as pure music. The single-movement concerto consists of five connected movements anchored by a heartbeat pattern that symbolises the presence of Christ. There is a constant battle between orchestra and soloist, who scurries back and forth among each set of instruments—tuned, untuned, metal and wood—capped by virtuosic passages for marimba, vibraphone and drums. The concerto opens with a colourful explosion of sound and whirling woodwinds, followed by a trumpet fanfare that will return in the climax. Trombones and horns then announce a menacing orchestral forte. In the second section, the strings establish an irregular rhythmic pattern, followed by a marimba solo against iterations of the “Gaude! Gaude!” ("Rejoice! Rejoice!") motif from the hymn. A long crescendo erupts into a plangent vibraphone solo, giving way to the climax, which juxtaposes the Advent hymn in lush chorale form and the fanfare, amplified by barrages of sound from the brass, a piercing piccolo and solo drums. The intensity gradually relaxes, arriving at a peaceful radiance of beatific tubular bells.