Colin Currie on playing 'legendary' MacMillan concerto with the SCO: 'the power of this music is unmatched'
As he prepares to revisit Sir James MacMillan’s mighty percussion concerto, Veni, veni Emmanuel, Colin Currie reflects on what makes the piece so special - and such a hit with audiences. Interview by David Kettle
“There were drums in the basement of the Royal Academy, cowbells in my friend’s bedroom, a marimba in another room where I was living, a vibraphone somewhere else entirely. I never got to join it all together until the first rehearsal.” Edinburgh-born percussionist Colin Currie is remembering the geographically scattered instruments he drew on the very first time he performed Sir James MacMillan’s legendary percussion concerto Veni, veni Emmanuel, back in 1996. It happened – in a demonstration of Currie’s remarkable talents – while he was still a student at London’s Royal Academy of Music. “The performance was in Scotland, though, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conductor Paul Daniel.”
Currie has quickly become one of the world’s most accomplished solo and ensemble percussionists (as well as an increasingly respected conductor – we’ll come to that later). He’s also a friend to and collaborator with countless composers, and – crucially – a seasoned hand at performing this particular piece, and at negotiating the expansive battery of percussion that MacMillan demands from its soloist. “It’s amazing to think I must have played Veni, veni, Emmanuel around 150 times,” he continues. “I now play about 90 per cent of it from memory – it’s a bit like a giant piece of chamber music.”
That chamber dimension will be even more evident, perhaps, in the performances Currie gives later this month and in October with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra – the ensemble for which MacMillan originally conceived and wrote the piece – on a European tour, and back in Scotland to launch the SCO’s new season. “I think that’s the optimal way to do the piece,” Currie explains. “It can work with the bigger forces of a symphony orchestra, of course, but with a smaller orchestra you have enough sound, but you also get the integration and intimacy that the piece needs, as well as a tightness of ensemble.”
Veni, veni, Emmanuel is a phenomenally successful concerto, and a hugely popular one too. It continues to attract anyone who’s anyone in the world of percussion, and there are numerous recordings (Currie himself has made two of them). To say that’s rare for a piece written in the 1990s would be – well, something of an understatement. But what is it that makes Veni, veni Emmanuel so immediate, so appealing, so powerful to so many listeners? It’s possibly the piece’s sheer range of expression – from brutal rhythms ricocheting across the orchestra to moments so intimate they’re barely heard. Possibly it’s the heart-on-sleeve emotion of MacMillan’s music. “The depth of feeling and sincerity and sheer power of this music are pretty much unmatched,” Currie agrees.
Possibly, too, it’s the concerto’s unexpected theatricality – unexpected, that is, for anyone who’s never experienced it (and let’s not spoil its magical closing surprises). Currie points, too, to a broader sense of drama in the piece. “There’s a sort of theatricality to percussion playing that there’s less of with other instruments, simply because of the dexterity needed to play percussion.” He chuckles: “That’s something I’m happy to embrace.”
But Veni, veni, Emmanuel’s powerful impact is also down to its deeply religious subject matter. As its title perhaps indicates, it takes its inspiration from the Advent hymn known better to us as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, veering away from Christmas to Easter at its reflective close, which considers the crucifixion and resurrection. The music’s vivid liturgical storytelling is there for anyone to hear, but at the same time it’s far from essential to an appreciation of the music. How does Currie himself respond to the expressions of faith in MacMillan’s music? “I think Jimmy would say – like I would – that music is essentially abstract, and you relate to it how you will. For me, music is primarily an emotional art form, and what really attracts me about the piece – in fact about a lot of Jimmy’s music – is the vastness of that emotion.”
Currie and MacMillan are close colleagues and collaborators. Not only has Currie performed Veni, veni, Emmanuel many times with MacMillan conducting, but the composer also created an entire concerto – his Second Percussion Concerto, premiered in 2014 – especially for Currie. “It’s a very different piece,” Currie smiles, “on a much bigger scale, with far bigger forces.”
For his upcoming SCO performances, however, Currie will be joining forces with the orchestra’s principal conductor, Maxim Emelyanychev. It’s the first time the two men have worked together, but Currie has long been an admirer. “I’m very intrigued to work with him. I mean, I’ve heard a huge number of his concerts, and I’m a big fan – he’s quite the firecracker.” One lesson Currie has learnt, however, is about instruments: he’ll be using all his own kit across both the European and Scottish dates. “There have been some Brexit hoops to jump through, but we’ve got it organised. So there shouldn’t be any need to adjust to different instruments in different venues.”
The eight performances of Veni, veni, Emmanuel represent just the latest stages in Currie’s long-standing relationship with the SCO, which has burgeoned even more fruitfully since the percussionist’s return to living in Scotland in 2020. He rejoins the SCO just a few weeks later, too, for a very different programme focused around music by another close colleague and collaborator: Steve Reich. For those November concerts, however, Currie will be demonstrating the full range of his musical abilities, as soloist, ensemble player and conductor. Directing from the podium is something he’s been doing increasingly regularly – because he wants to, or because he’s asked to? “Probably a bit of both!” he laughs. “I’m really enjoying it, and I’ve had a lot of support from the places I’ve conducted so far, for example with the Hallé orchestra. Despite being a novice conductor, I don’t find it nerve-wracking. If I’m ever doing concerts where I’m playing percussion and conducting, it’s always the percussion I’m most nervous about.”
The concerts’ big draws will no doubt be a duo of recent Reich pieces – the intense, energetic Runner and the colourful Double Sextet. But Currie is particularly looking forward to revisiting a very different piece by another composer friend, Joe Duddell. “Snowblind was one of my very first percussion concertos, and Joe wrote it for me,” he explains. “I’m really fond of it – Joe’s biggest influence is probably Tippett, and you can really hear that in the piece, but there’s some lovely groove-based music too, as well as influences from bands like Radiohead.”
Currie is clearly a musician of deep passion, and with the ability to take listeners with him on his journeys into often unfamiliar music. His autumn concerts with the SCO will no doubt challenge and provoke, but they’re sure to captivate and enlighten too.
Colin Currie plays Sir James MacMillan’s Veni, veni, Emmanuel with the SCO on a European tour to Bucharest, Sibiu, Brussels, Bonn and Essen 19-28 September, then at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 2 October, City Halls, Glasgow, 3 October and Perth Concert Hall, 4 October. His Steve Reich+ concerts with the SCO are at the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, 6 November and the City Halls, Glasgow, 7 November. This feature was produced in association with the SCO.
READER OFFER: As part of our ongoing media partnership with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, we're offering 20 per cent off tickets to concerts in the SCO's upcoming 2025/26 season. All you need to do is quote the code TSMSCO20 when booking – for venue contact details visit www.sco.org.uk.
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