Quickening is a cantata for countertenor, two tenors, two baritones, children's choir, chorus, and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan.
Its world premiere was performed by the Hilliard Ensemble, the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, and the Westminster Cathedral Boys' Choir under the direction of Andrew Davis at Royal Albert Hall, London, on 5 September 1999.
Those two sections, 'Incarnadine' and 'Living Waters,' frame two darker central tableaux, 'Midwife' and 'Poppies,' that erupt in spasms of orchestral agitation undergirding powerful surges of choral declamation.
"[7] Lawrence A. Johnson of the Chicago Classical Review similarly remarked, "Quickening is a big, complex and multifaceted work with a lot to take in at first hearing.
The composer wields his vast forces with skill and panache, particularly in his writing for brass and his favored percussion, often making a dazzling and brilliant effect.