''The Confession of Isobel Gowdie'' is a work for large

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

by the Scottish composer

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) 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. His father is James MacMi ...

. It is, according to the composer, a

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

for one

Isobel Gowdie Isobel Gowdie was a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft at Auldearn near Nairn during 1662. Scant information is available about her age or life and, although she was probably executed in line with the usual practice, it is uncertain whet ...

, supposedly burnt as a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

in post-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

Scotland. Despite the work's depiction of the violent torture and execution of Gowdie, it is actually thought that no torture took place prior to her confession; although it is likely she was executed in 1662 no records exist to confirm it. It was written in 1990 and premiered at that year's

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named 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 Hal ...

concerts in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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 Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

".Johnson, Stephen. Liner notes for BIS recording of ''The Confession of Isobel Gowdie'', 2002 The work falls into three major sections: an opening, elegiac 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 In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

to '' fffff'' which bears the hallmark of a similar motif in

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

's ''

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'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...

''. The work was premiered by the

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (BBC SSO) is a Scottish broadcasting symphony orchestra based in Glasgow. One of five full-time orchestras maintained by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), it is the oldest full-time professional rad ...

, under

Jerzy Maksymiuk Jerzy Jan Maksymiuk (born 9 April 1936) is a Polish composer, pianist and orchestra conductor. Personal life Maksymiuk was born in Grodno, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus). He studied violin, piano, conducting and composition at the Warsaw ...

, who later recorded it. It has been performed and recorded many times since, including repeat performances by the BBC SSO, and the

RSAMD The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

Symphony Orchestra in the composer's 50th birthday celebrations.

Instrumentation

The Confession of Isobel Gowdie is scored for the following orchestra: 8 Woodwinds * 2 Flutes (2nd doubling Piccolo) * 2 Oboes (2nd doubling Cor Anglais) * 2 Clarinets in B♭ (2nd doubling Bass Clarinet) * 2 Bassoons (2nd doubling Contrabassoon) 11 Brass * 4 Horns in F * 3 Trumpets in C * 2 Trombones * Bass Trombone * Tuba Timpani 2 Percussion # 2 Congas (high, low), 2 Timbales (high, low), Xylophone, 3 Tam-tams (small, medium, large), Anvil, Tubular bells # Snare drum, 2 Congas (high, low), Vibraphone, Bass drum, ''very'' large tam-tam * (The 2 players are to be as far apart as possible to enhance the antiphonal effects.) Strings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confession of Isobel Gowdie Funerary and memorial compositions Compositions by James MacMillan 1990 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra