From Ayrshire

Composed at the request of Nicola Benedetti, the work's title plays on the common link of both MacMillan and Benedetti's Ayrshire backgrounds. In the first of the two short movements the folksong 'Ca' the Yowes', though hardly present, hovers like a subliminal message, melodically and harmonically. The violin line is lyrical and melancholy with delicate sustained sounds in the accompaniment. After the reflective first movement the second movement provides a brief but wild contrast, being fast, and based on Celtic reel forms. Recorded on Universal/DG (476 3159) by Nicola Benedetti and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, conducted by James MacMillan.