4.3.3.Tenor Sax.3. 4.4.3.1.

Timps Perc(3) Harp Celeste Strings

Commissioned by Glasgow Orchestral Society

Premiere: 12 December 1974, City Hall, Glasgow

Glasgow Orchestral Society conducted by John McLeod

‘Generates excitement – an orchestral tour de force’ The Guardian

LE TOMBEAU DE POULENC (1974) 10′

for solo flute, harp and strings

Premiere: 25 March 1981, Music Hall, Aberdeen,

Richard Chester (flute), Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John McLeod

LIEDER DER JUGEND (1978) 18′

The Guinness Prize for British Composers 1979

Symphonic song-cycle for tenor and orchestra

German texts taken from Des Knaben Wunderhorn

3.3.4.3. 4.3.3.1.

Timps Perc(4) Harp Celeste/Piano Strings

Commissioned by Lothian Regional Council

Premiere: 15 March 1978, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Raimund Gilvan (tenor), Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John McLeod

‘Lieder der Jugend has an impressive depth of feeling and a beguiling harmonic warmth wedded to a beautifully flexible vocal line and a thoroughly idiomatic compositional response to the rhythms and cadences of German'. The Musical Times

‘Here McLeod unleashes his broadest, most powerful orchestral utterance’ The Scotsman

THE SEASONS OF DR ZHIVAGO (1982) 35′

Symphonic song-cycle for baritone and orchestra

Poems by Boris Pasternak translated into English by Max Hayward and Manya Harari

3.3.3.3. 4.3.3.1.

Timps Perc(4) Harp Celeste/Piano Strings

Commissioned by Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Premiere: 2 April 1982, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Benjamin Luxon (baritone), Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John McLeod

‘A work of profound and passionate seriousness’ The Musical Times

THE GOKSTAD SHIP (1982) 17′

3.3.3.3. 4.4.3.1.

Timps Perc(5) Harp Celeste Strings

Commissioned by National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

Premiere: 30 July 1982, Kirkwall, Orkney

National Youth Orchestra of Scotland conducted by Nicholas Braithwaite

‘Music with inspiration and power which overwhelmed the audience’ Gothenburg Post (Sweden)

2.2.2.2. 2.2.0.0.

Timps Perc(2) Harp Strings

Commissioned by Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Premiere: 15 December 1982, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Roderick Brydon

THE WHISPERED NAME (1986) 18′

Song-cycle for soprano, harp and strings

Poems by AI-Khansa, Marguerite de Navarre, Emily Bronte, Edith Sitwell and Gabriela Mistral

Premiere: 27 February 1986, BBC Studio 1, Glasgow

Jane Manning (soprano), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by John McLeod

‘Marvellously evocative settings – songs of stratospheric virtuosity’

The Herald

PERCUSSION CONCERTO (1987) 26′

3.3.3.3. 4.4.3.1.

Timps(2) Perc(3) Harps(2) Celeste Strings

Solo Percussion: Timps, Side Drum, Cymbal, Marimba, 5 Temple Blocks, 5 Tom Toms, 3 Cow Bells, Mark Tree, 3 Chinese Cymbals, Vibraphone, Crotales, 3 Gongs.

Commissioned by National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

Premiere: 21 July 1987, Nicolson Institute, Stornoway

Evelyn Glennie (percussion), National Youth Orchestra of Scotland,

conducted by John McLeod

‘Arresting music – splendidly structured’ The Scotsman

‘Bartok-like figurations with their constantly shifting metres’

The Daily Telegraph

‘Brought the audience to its feet – McLeod has created music of real diversity and breath-taking virtuosity’ Nashville Banner (American premiere)

2.2.2.2. 4.3.3.1. Timps Perc(3) Harp Strings

Commissioned by Perth Festival of the Arts

Premiere: 18 May 1988, City Hall, Perth

Peter Donohoe (piano), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Hurst

‘McLeod has constructed a dramatic tour de force. The stark juxtaposition of materials hurtles the music forward with an almost numbing force’ The Herald

‘Lucidly structured and accessibly argued with strong, sharp textures’ The Scotsman

for solo clarinet and wind band

Commissioned by Orkney Islands Council

Premiere: 22 June 1990, Phoenix Cinema, Kirkwall, St Magnus Festival (Orkney)

Gillian Orr (clarinet), Orkney Schools Wind Band, conducted by Edgar Williams

MACHAR – Portrait of a Saint (2000) 15′

2.2.2.2. 2.2.2.0.

Timps Perc(3) Harp Strings

Commissioned by Aberdeen Sinfonietta

Premiere: 16 September 2000, Music Hall, Aberdeen

Aberdeen Sinfonietta conducted by Roger Williams

‘Wonderful music, splendidly written for the orchestra.’

Press and Journal

THE SUN DANCES (2000) 12′

2+Picc/Alto.2+CA.2+Bass.2+Contra 4.2.3.1.

Timps Perc(4) Harp Piano/Celeste Strings

Commissioned by National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

Premiere: 3 January 2001, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

National Youth Orchestra of Scotland conducted by Takuo Yuasa

‘A palette of textures that cover lush, Ravel-like sonorities and the spiky rhythms of a propulsive dance. A beautiful and exciting piece.‘ The Herald

SYMPHONIES OF STONE AND WATER (2000) 27′

for solo piano, 3 saxophones, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and percussion

Commissioned by Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust (ECAT)

Premiere: 12 February 2001, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Ananda Sukarlan (piano) and ECAT Ensemble conducted by James Wood

‘The voice of a composer at the height of his craft speaking lucidly.’ The Scotsman

‘McLeod’s beautifully structured nine-movement piece . . . some of the most magical effects ever produced by this prolific composer.’ The Herald

Strings Timpani 2 Percussion

Commissioned by Linda Merrick

Premiere: 27 November 2005, Perth Concert Hall

Linda Merrick (clarinet) and Perth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Allan Young

Nominated for a British Composer Award 2010

2.2.2.2. 2.2.0.0.

Timps/Perc(1) Strings

Commissioned by 3 orchestras from ‘Making Music’

Premiere: 20 March 2010, Nicolson Square Methodist Church, Edinburgh

Ian Watt (guitar), New Edinburgh Orchestra conducted by Tim Paxton

2/Piccs.2/CA.2.2. 2.2.0.0.

Timps Perc(1) Strings

Commissioned by Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Premiere: 22 January 2015, Perth Concert Hall

Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Joseph Swensen

‘A wonderful piece that literally emerged from stillness, grew organically from a single sound, developed limbs and character before becoming an excited entity. It was a perfect structure for McLeod, exquisitely expressed’. The Herald

VIOLA CONCERTO – ‘NORDIC FIRE’ (2018) 29’

2/Picc.2.2.2/Contra. 2.2.0.0.

Timps Perc(1) Harp Strings

Solo Viola

Commissioned by Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Premiere: 25 October 2018, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Jane Atkins (viola), Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Joseph Swensen

‘McLeod has produced a work brimming with energy and vibrant orchestral colour’. The Guardian

‘A masterpiece from this outstanding British composer’. Seen and Heard International

SATB choir and organ

Commissioned by St Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh

Premiere: 10 April 1977, St Cuthbert’s Church

Choir of St Cuthbert’s Church conducted by Philip Sawyer

SATB choir and organ

Commissioned by St Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh

Premiere: 10 April 1977, St Cuthbert’s Church

Choir of St Cuthbert’s Church conducted by Philip Sawyer

Latin text interspersed with poems by Al-Khansa, Marguerite de Navarre, Emily Bronte, Edith Sitwell and Anna Akhmatova

Soprano and baritone solos, 2 mixed choirs, children’s choir, boys’ choir (with treble soloist)

2.0.2.2. 4.2.3.0.

Timps Perc(2) Harp Organ Strings

Commissioned by Edinburgh Royal Choral Union

Premiere: 1 April 1986, Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Jane Manning (soprano), Benjamin Luxon (baritone)

Edinburgh Royal Choral Union, Choirs from St Mary’s Music School, St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral and Edinburgh Academy

Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by John McLeod

‘A work of powerful contrasts and a wide range of expression’ The Herald

‘McLeod enjoys effects of surprise and massive force, and he is endlessly inventive of contrasting textures, seductive choral harmony, the snarl of muted brass’ The Scotsman

Poems by Irina Ratushinskaya translated into English by David McDuff

Solo soprano, chamber choir and piano

Commissioned by The John Currie Singers

Premiere: 5 March 1989, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama

Irene Drummond (soprano), Peter Seivewright (piano), The John Currie Singers conducted by John Pryce-Jones

‘The poems speak of an enclosed world, of privation of suffering, of fear, and upon them McLeod has unleashed some of his most challenging composition and uncompromising inspiration. He has plunged beneath the surface of the poems, releasing the poignancy and the humanity which lie beneath the chilly and fierce upper layer of the texts. The work is powered by an accelerating momentum that is impossible to resist’ The Herald

Poems in Scots by William Soutar

Solo soprano and children’s choir

1(+Picc).1(+CA).2.1. 2.2.1.0.

Timps Perc(2) Harp Strings

Commissioned by Haddo House Choral and Orchestral Society

Premiere: 9 May 1992, Haddo House, Aberdeenshire

Kathleen Livingstone (soprano), Haddo House Children’s Choir and Orchestra conducted by John McLeod

Text by John McLeod

Solo baritone, SATB choir and children’s choir

Strings Perc(2) Piano Organ

Commissioned by Aberdeen Bach Choir

Premiere: 25 April 1999, St Machar’s Cathedral, Aberdeen

John Hearne (baritone), Aberdeen Bach Choir, Choir of Cults Academy, Aberdeen Sinfonietta conducted by James Lobban

‘McLeod’s magnificent new cantata. Vivid vocal and instrumental colour. To the choir he gives the most glorious and resolute music. In short, it was a triumph’ The Scotsman

‘Wonderful atmospheric music. In the orchestral writing the freshness of McLeod’s imagination really took off ‘ The Herald

Sonnet by John Donne

SATB choir, Brass Quintet, Organ

Commissioned by the Carlisle Festival

Premiere: 7 July 2010, Carlisle Cathedral

Carlisle Cathedral Choir, Fine Arts Brass, Edward Taylor (organ) directed by Jeremy Suter

for clarinet and piano (with pre-recorded tape)

Premiere: 2 June 1974, MacRobert Centre, University of Stirling

Keith Pearson (clarinet) and Edward Harper (piano)

‘With its evocative tape of lazy female laughter and rolling surf, to which the clarinet responds with bubbling phrases of merriment, Messiaen-like bird-cries and the siren call from Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin, it is that rare thing in any age – a genuinely sexy piece of music’ The Musical Times

for violin and piano

Premiere: 19 February 1976, Concert Hall, University of Glasgow

Sam Bor (violin) and Roderick Brydon (piano)

‘Eloquent and finely wrought’ The Musical Times

by Victoria, Cabezon and Guerrero

arranged for flute(+alto), oboe(+cor anglais), violin and cello

Premiere: 14 May 1976, Concert Hall, University of Glasgow

The Janglers conducted by John McLeod

for percussion and piano

Premiere: 27 July 1989, Kensington Town Hall

(BBC Henry Wood Proms)

Evelyn Glennie (percussion) and Philip Smith (piano)

‘Forcefully energetic music, both imaginative and idiomatic’

The Times

Hommage a Couperin

for 2 violins, cello and harpsichord

Commissioned by The Kist of Musick

Premiere: 11 June 1991, The Canongate Church, Edinburgh

The Kist of Musick

‘Mcleod’s quartet is full of subtle textures and colours and well-crafted into seven miniature musical portraits’ The Scotsman

Variations on a theme of Benjamin Britten

for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon

Commissioned by The London Wind Trio

In memory of Ida Carroll

for treble recorder and piano

Premiere: 3 February 1996, Royal Northern College of Music

John Turner (recorder) and John Wilson (piano)

A little Chinese opera for solo percussion

Premiere: 18 February 2000, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

Colin Currie (percussion)

for violin, clarinet, cello and piano

Commissioned by The Hebrides Ensemble

Premiere: 16 May 2002, St mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow

‘John McLeod’s latest work is remarkable for the urgency and violence of its argument. Silence is crowded out of the opening Metamorphosis by swathes of virtuosic writing, and the spectres of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time and McLeod’s magnificent Third Piano Sonata stalk through the score . . . the Threnody, which draws the work to a close with exquisite tenderness, brings solace where there once was pain.’ The Daily Telegraph

‘Written around September 11 last year, it is not surprisingly full of anger, driving forward movement, and great slashes of sound. Passionate and effective, the anger eventually evaporates into a gentler lament which transforms into the mystical stillness of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.’ The Times

‘A Moment in Time is a strong, fierce, ultimately haunting memorial to the events of September 11.’ The Herald

from the film Another Time, Another Place

Arranged for violin and piano by Margaret Murray McLeod

Nominated for a British Composer Award 2005

for 2 trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba

Commissioned by Fine Arts Brass

Premiere: 12 March 2005, Stranraer Music Club

‘Inspired by a recent visit to China, it rejoiced in the composer’s experiences there and found a musical format for them which brilliantly exploited the the voices of the instruments and the personality of the players. Witty and imaginative music’. The Herald

for flute and piano

Premiere: 18 July 2009, Wigmore Hall, London,

Gillian Poznansky (flute) and Mark Tanner (piano)

for cello and piano

Premiere: 27 April 2011, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Robin Michael (cello) and Peter Evans (piano)

Commissioned by Ian Watt

Premiere: 6 September 2012, Merchants’ House, Glasgow

Ian Watt (Guitar)

1. Amphion’s Lyre

2. Salamander

3. Ariadne’s Thread

Commissioned by Ian Watt

Premiere: 6 September 2014, University of Glasgow

Ian Watt (Guitar)

Commissioned by Peter Evans

Premiere: 27 August 1978, Saltire Society, Edinburgh

Peter Evans (piano)

‘A relish in virtuosity and widely contrasted textures and sonorities’ The Scotsman

Commissioned by Bryn Turley

Premiere: 23 February 1984, Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Bryn Turley (piano)

Commissioned by Aberdeen University to mark its 500th anniversary

Premiere: 7 December 1995, Mitchell Hall, University of Aberdeen

Murray McLachlan (piano)

‘McLeod has fashioned a monumental edifice for his Third Piano Sonata – a massive structure with hugely dramatic momentum and a simmering intensity that bubbles, boils and erupts with volcanic force’ The Herald

Commissioned by Richard Orlando Thompson

Premiere: 30 September 1984, Purcell Room, London

Richard Orlando Thompson (piano)

from the film Another Time, Another Place

Premiere: 9 February 1999, Reld Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh

Murray McLachlan (piano)

‘There are flashes of angry modernism, but the expression, the unfolding in long, singing lines, are rooted in late Romanticism. It all emerges whole, and with considerable dark eloquence.’ The Scotsman

Commissioned by Sam Haywood

Premiere: 16 November 2006, Sound Festival, Mitchell Hall, University of Aberdeen

Sam Haywood (piano)

‘With Bartok-like stabbing chords and frenzied runs, Sam Haywood drove the first movement forward at full tilt. The more relaxed central movement had a certain opalescent glow about it before the fires flared up more brightly than ever in the Finale. There was so much going on in this music that it seemed to be over before one could draw breath. No chance of ever being bored by this music'. Alan Cooper (Critic’s Review)

– 12 Aphorisms based on drawings by Haflidi Hallgrimsson for narrator (optional) and piano

Commissioned by Mark Tanner

Premiere: 24 July 2008, Wigmore Hall, London

Mark Tanner (piano)

‘Highly attractive, highly listenable’ The Scotsman

‘The music is colourful and exciting, technically challenging and characterful . . . .

pithy, quirky miniatures’ Classical Music

‘The music has brittle, fractured energy and grim humour’. International Record Review

(This work is published by Europa Edition Ltd. www.europaedition.com)

Commissioned by Murray McLachlan

Premiere: 23 August 2014, Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester

Murray McLachlan (piano)

Commissioned by Philip Sawyer

Premiere: 2 March 1992, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh

Philip Sawyer (organ)

‘McLeod presents chiming and meditative chords that are ruled by colour rather than structure, and his bursts of melody are mere rhythmic twitches, more like textures than tunes. These features resemble Messiaen, but the Scot’s music is colder, grimmer and greyer, more suggestive of Aberdeen than Avignon’ The Independent

‘Overall, the work possessed a strong luminosity and spatial feel which gave the sensual tones of the organ room to breathe’ The Scotsman

Premiere: 17 November 2009, King’s College Chapel, University of Aberdeen

Roger Williams (organ)

Premiere: 18 April 1975, St Cecilia’s Hall, Edinburgh

Margaret Murray McLeod (harpsichord)

‘It has abundant rhythmic vitality and is beautifully conceived for the instrument’ The Herald

1. Mrs McLeod’s Rant

2. Herr Professor Gilvan’s Ground

3. Dr Havergal – his dream

4. Miss Lovell’s Lavolta

(a continuing series of pieces written for friends)

Premiere: 26 March 1985, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow

Margaret Murray McLeod (harpsichord)

Commissioned by Owen Murray

Premiere: 24 June 1991, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, St Magnus Festival (Orkney)

Owen Murray (accordion)

Poems by Walter de la Mare, Christina Rossetti and Lord Tennyson

for tenor or soprano and piano

Poems by Naomi Royd Smith, Theodore Roethke, and William Blake

for soprano, clarinet(+bass clarinet) and piano

Premiere: 14 October 1972, Reid Concert Hall, University of Edinburgh

Trio Concordia

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet from the Portuguese

for mezzo-soprano, viola, and piano

Premiere: 23 September 1972, Reid Concert Hall,

University of Edinburgh

Trio Felice

1. The Angel Gabriel

2. Ding, Dong merrily on high!

arranged for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano

Text by J.R.R. Tolkein

for tenor and harpsichord

Premiere: 18 April 1975, St Cecilia’s Hall, Edinburgh

Raimund Gilvan (tenor) and Margaret Murray McLeod (harpsichord)

German texts taken from Des Knaben Wunderhorn

for tenor and piano

Poems by Shelley and Christina Rossetti

for counter-tenor or mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano

Commissioned by James Littlejohn

Premiere: 8 May 1984, Wigmore Hall, London

Ashley Stafford (counter-tenor) and Penelope Smith (piano)

‘Strongly illustrated music with evocative use of a lyrical line highlighted by dramatic florid passages’ The Daily Telegraph

for soprano and piano

Premiere: 2 March 1992, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh

Jane Manning (soprano) and Dominic Saunders (piano)

Poems by Jean Cayrol

for soprano and piano

Premiere: 2 March 1992, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh

Jane Manning (soprano) and Dominic Saunders (piano)

‘You were conscious of a seriousness that made no compromises, a mixture of French colour and German severity’. The Independent

Texts by J.B. Priestley

for baritone and piano

Commissioned by the Trustees of the Priestley Estate to commemorate his centenary

Premiere: 12 September 1994, Bellevue School, Bradford

John Hearne (baritone) and Robert Howie (piano)

Text taken from an ancient Chinese poem

for soprano, 2 clarinets, viola, cello, and double bass

Commissioned by The Composers’ Ensemble of London

Premiere: 1 November 2001, The Warehouse, London

Mary Wiegold (soprano), The Composers’ Ensemble conducted by Dominic Muldowney

Texts by Heinrich Hoffmann

for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano

Premiere: 6 November 2012, Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh

Taylor Wilson (mezzo-soprano, Michael Beeston (viola) and

Margaret Murray McLeod (piano)

Words by John McLeod and Wilfred Owen

for soprano or mezzo-soprano and piano

Commissioned by Live Music Now and the Baring Foundation

Premiere: 14 August 2015, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Jennifer Walker (soprano) and Rhiannon Pritchard (piano)

Scottish Premiere: 19 August 2015, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

Emily Mitchell (soprano) and Geoffrey Tanti (piano)

Documentary

Director: Keith Alexander

BBC 1 (Scotland)

Feature

Director: Michael Radford

Umbrella Films/Channel 4

Documentary

Director: Eddie McConnell

International Film Associates/Channel 4

Documentary

Director: Eddie McConnell

International Film Associates/Channel 4

Drama/Documentary

Director: Mike Alexander

BBC 1 (Scotland)

Documentary

Director: Keith Alexander

BBC 2

Feature

Director: Suri Krishnamma

BBC 2

Feature

Director: Peter Barber-Fleming

BBC 2

Documentary

(Title Music)

BBC 1 (Scotland)