Search - Maxwell Davies, Rafferty, Sco :: Martyrdom of St. Magnus

Deep spirituality

Drastic | Cascade, MD United States | 01/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' opera, "The Martyrdom of St Magnus" had its world premier in St Magnus Cathedral at the first St Magnus Festival in 1977. It is loosely based on George Mackay Brown's novel "Magnus". St. Magnus, whose late twelfth-century cathedral is the glory of Kirkwall, was a Viking pacifist. The history of St. Magnus is recorded in the Icelandic Orkneyinga Saga.



The action of the opera takes place in the twelfth century and starts with the Battle of Menai Strait between the King of Norway (supported by Orkney and Shetland) and the Earl of Shrewsbury (supported by Wales). It was during this battle that Magnus first distinguished himself as a pacifist. The action then moves to Orkney and the quarrel between Håkon and Magnus, joint earls of Orkney, which culminates in the murder of Magnus by Håkon. For this the action moves forward to the present day, and the martyrdom takes place in a police cell in any contemporary totalitarian state. For the final scene, in which the blind crone Mary is cured of her blindness at Magnus' tomb, the action shifts back to the twelfth century.



The opera was commissioned by the BBC for the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies composed the music in the summer of 1975 on Hoy. "The Martyrdom of St Magnus" has been performed twice at the St Magnus Festival. It has been performed in the Cathedral in 1977 and 1987.



Rafferty's performance is unquestioningly the definitive one. For admirers of the music of Peter Maxwell Davies, and for those interested in serious new opera and music-theatre works, this disc is a necessity. For others, I will only say that I have found listening to this work both a disturbing and a healing experience. The painful harshness of its subject (and of some of its music) seems to me no more than an accurate reflection of the world we see around us each day, and like all great art, The Martyrdom of St. Magnus ultimately seeks to reconcile us to our state of human imperfection, even as it challenges us to work to bring the actions of our daily lives into closer harmony with the inner blueprint of the Divine Image that each of us carries."