St Luke Passion (Penderecki)

The St. Luke Passion by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki under the detailed title Passio et mors Domini nostri Jesus Christ secundum Lucam ( suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke ) is an oratorio in Latin, which was commissioned by the West German Radio. The premiere took place on 30 March 1966 at St. Paul's Cathedral in Münster ( Westphalia ) under the direction of Henryk Czyz. Despite the avant-garde sounds of the St. Luke Passion was an instant success because of their expressiveness. It is regarded as a key work of contemporary music.

Formation

Penderecki was known for contemporary music among the experts already some experimental avant-garde works such as Anaklasis (1960) and Threnody ( threnody for the victims of Hiroshima, 1961) in Western Europe. In 1962 he composed the surprise of many, a Stabat Mater for three mixed choruses a cappella, with whom he revealed himself as a devout Catholic and a devotee of the suffering Madonna. According to the experimental compositions of the previous years he laid before a deliberately simple design, yet complex work on Zwölftonbasis, where he worked with tone clusters, spoken word from the " whisper to the ecstatic cry " polyphony and homophony. When it became known that Penderecki was planning a larger work, he received a commission from WDR. The St. Luke Passion was built between 1963-1966, with Penderecki 's Stabat Mater be recorded unchanged in the Passion. The Latin texts on which the composition is based, he had put together.

Style

The St. Luke Passion is a large scale oratorio with three vocal soloists (soprano, alto and bass), a speaker, boys' choir, three mixed choirs and a large orchestra, and an organ. The text is based on the Gospel according to Luke in the tradition of the Vulgate, supplemented by excerpts from the Gospel of John. As in the great Passions of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Evangelist takes the role of the narrator. However, unlike Bach, he is not a singer, but a spokesman. The words of Jesus and the people involved, however, be carried forward by the soprano, baritone, bass, or choirs. Even otherwise Penderecki follows the tradition of Bach, when excerpts will include in the gospels text from the Psalms, the complaints of Jeremiah, liturgical texts of Holy Week and Latin hymns such as the Stabat Mater, which are presented in the form of solo arias or by the choir

Penderecki used in the Passion of almost all modern means of expression, such as sound textures, timbres and sound tapes with clusters, aleatoric, glissandi and quarter tones. Nevertheless, a twelve-tone row is based on the work that closes with the tones H, B, A and C. This Penderecki attacks with "minor change the bach motif tradition -oriented " on .. This series occurs in different variants. After Jakobik it sounds at the beginning of the work in the milder form "like a ( tonal extended ) D minor ". In this milder form also excerpts come in " the nature of Gregorian chant " before. In addition, the series condensed into a " self- pushing together of tones to a chord " in the form of cluster formations and sharp dissonances.

Construction

The plant consists of two parts, and the performance time of about 70 minutes. The notes to the individual parts are essentially based on Albert Jakobiks analysis.

Part I

  • 2 Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Evangelist and Jesus)
  • 3 aria Deus meus ( baritone, chorus, boys' choir )
  • 4 aria Domine quis habetabit (soprano )
  • 5th arrest (Evangelist, Jesus, choirs )
  • 6 lament Jerusalem, Jerusalem convertere ( choirs )
  • 7 Psalm Ut quid, Domine ( choruses a cappella )
  • 8 denial by Peter (Evangelist, soprano, bass, choir )
  • 9 aria Judica me, Deus ( bass)
  • 10 mockery before the high priest (Evangelist, Jesus, choirs )
  • 11 lament Jerusalem, Jerusalem convertere (soprano )
  • 12 Psalm Miserere mei, Deus ( boys' choir, choirs, a cappella )
  • 13 Jesus before Pilate (Evangelist, bass, Jesus, choirs )

Part II

  • 25 death of Christ (Evangelist, Jesus, boys' choir )
  • 26 Instrumental interlude
  • 27 finale, In te domine Psalm speravi (soprano, baritone, bass, choir, boys' choir )

Awards

In June 1966, Penderecki was awarded the major art prize (Music) of North Rhine -Westphalia for this work.

Aleatoric music Glissando Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
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