A new work by Britain’s leading Catholic composer draws breath from the Holy Spirit

The quickest way to change your psychological state couldn’t be simpler: you breathe. Breath is the only automatic bodily function we can also consciously control, and breathwork is tremendously effective. If you don’t believe me, put down your copy of The Tablet and take 10 deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth, concentrating only on what you’re doing. How’s that for an instant de-stress?

So it seems entirely apt that the newest work by leading Catholic composer James MacMillan, which had its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival on 17 August, opens not with music, but with breathing – the sound of change, though not usually the sound a chorus makes. In and out, in and out: the symphony ahead, MacMillan seems to be saying, will bring change, and will also be different from what we might have been expecting. Deep breaths, and then, here goes…