At a time when composers usually write only one piece in any particular genre, since they seldom get the commission or — like Brahms and Beethoven – feel the urge or need to make it two or three at the very least, it is more than just good fortune that James MacMillan's cello compositions, large and small, are rapidly becoming a major corpus of work for the instrument. It is a tribute to, and result of, his confidence with the cello's ability to carry his thoughts, and also of its inherent suitability to express the singing, dancing and searingly intense things he wants to say.