Luke Passion (Penderecki)

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Luke Passion. New Opera (Moscow) (2016).

The St. Luke Passion by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki under the more detailed title Passio et mors Domini nostri Iesu Christi secundum Lucam (Suffering and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke) is an oratorio in Latin that was commissioned by West German Radio . The premiere took place on March 30, 1966 in St. Paulus Cathedral in Münster under the direction of Henryk Czyż . Despite the avant-garde sounds, the Luke Passion was an immediate success because of its expressiveness. It is considered a key work of new music .

Emergence

Penderecki had already become known among experts in contemporary music in Western Europe through some experimental avant-garde works such as Anaklasis (1960) and Threnos (Lament for the victims of Hiroshima , 1961). In 1962, to the surprise of many, he composed a Stabat mater for three mixed choirs a cappella , with which he revealed himself to be a devout Catholic and admirer of the suffering Madonna . Following the experimental compositions of previous years, he presented a deliberately simple but complex work on a twelve-tone basis in which he worked with tone clusters , spoken word from “ whispering to ecstatic screams ”, polyphony and homophony . When it became known that Penderecki was planning a larger work, he received a commission from Westdeutscher Rundfunk. The St. Luke Passion was written between 1963 and 1966, with Penderecki including his Stabat Mater in the Passion unchanged. He himself put together the Latin texts on which the composition is based.

style

The Lukas 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, as well as 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 on the role of the narrator. In contrast to Bach, however, he is not a singer, but a speaker. The words of Jesus and the people involved, on the other hand, are performed by the soprano, baritone, bass or the choirs. Penderecki also follows Bach's tradition in other ways when the Gospel text includes excerpts from the Psalms, the Lamentations of Jeremiah , liturgical texts from Holy Week and Latin hymns such as the Stabat Mater , which are performed in the form of solo arias or by the choir.

Penderecki uses almost all modern means of expression in the Passion, such as sound surfaces , sound colors and sound bands with clusters , aleatoric , glissandi and quarter tones . Nevertheless, the work is based on a twelve-tone row that ends with the notes B, B, A and C. Penderecki thus picks up on the traditional Bach motif with “a slight change ”. This series occurs in different variants. According to Jakobik it sounds at the beginning of the work in the softened form " like a (tonally extended) D minor ". In this softened form, there are also excerpts from " the type of Gregorian chant ". In addition, the series condenses in a “ pushing together of the tones to form a chord ” in the form of clusters and sharp dissonances .

construction

The work consists of two parts and the performance time is about 70 minutes. The comments on the individual parts are essentially based on Albert Jakobik's analysis.

part One

  • 1. Hymn O crux ave (boys' choir and mixed choirs)
In this introductory part, a melody supported by central tones develops from clusters to mere noises. The twelve-tone row ends in glissandi.
  • 2. Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Evangelist and Jesus)
  • 3. Aria Deus meus (baritone, choirs, boys' choir)
  • 4. Aria Domine quis habitabit (soprano)
  • 5. Capture (Evangelist, Jesus, Choirs)
  • 6. Lamentation Jerusalem, Jerusalem convertere (choirs)
  • 7.Psalm Ut quid, Domine (choirs a cappella)
  • 8. Denial by Peter (evangelist, soprano, bass, choirs)
  • 9. Aria Judica me, Deus (bass)
  • 10.Mocking before the high priest (evangelist, Jesus, choirs)
  • 11. Lamentation Jerusalem, Jerusalem convertere (soprano)
  • 12.Psalm Miserere mei, Deus (boys' choir, a cappella choirs)
  • 13. Jesus before Pilate (evangelist, bass, Jesus, choirs)

Part II

  • 14.Psalm Et in pulverem mortis (choirs)
  • 15. Way of the Cross (Evangelist)
  • 16. Passacaglia Popule meus, quid feci tibi? (From the improperia of the missal , boys' choir, choirs)
  • 17. Crucifixion (Evangelist)
  • 18.Aria Crux fidelis (soprano and choirs)
In contrast to the previous excesses of sound, this aria is almost traditionalist and tonally bound, with the keys of C major and C minor shimmering through again and again
  • 19. Distribution of clothes (Evangelist, Jesus, choirs)
  • 20th Psalm in pulverem mortis (chorus a cappella)
  • 21. Mocking Christ on the cross (evangelist, choirs)
  • 22.Jesus between the criminals (evangelist, Jesus, bass, boys' choir, choirs)
  • 23. Under the cross (Evangelist, Jesus)
  • 24. Stabat Mater (choirs a cappella)
This work, which was created in 1962, is placed here unchanged in a larger context.
  • 25. Death of Christ (Evangelist, Jesus, boys' choir)
  • 26. Instrumental interlude
Quotes from Aria No. 18, played only by the strings and timpani
  • 27 Finale, Psalm In te domine speravi (soprano, baritone, bass, choirs, boys' choir)
In the first section of this hopeful ending “I trust in you, God”, all of the musical motifs of the work are taken up, with the soloists singing in a trio. The psalm text is based again on the series bach and ends “ like No. 24 in a radiant major ”.

Awards

In June 1966 Penderecki received the great art price (music) of North Rhine-Westphalia for this work.

literature

  • Walter Dirks and Otto Tonnek, in: Supplement to the CD with the cast of the premiere, 1967
  • Albert Jakobik, in: Concert program of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg from April 9th ​​and 11th 1974
  • Alfred Baumgartner: Music of the 20th Century , Kiesel Verlag, 1985, p. 644, ISBN 3-7023-4005-X
  • Ray Robinson and Allen Winold: The St. Luke Passion by Krzysztof Penderecki , Edition Moeck, Celle 1993, ISBN 978-3-87549-017-6
  • Karl-Josef Müller: Series of publications on music education: Information on Penderecki's Lukas Passion , Moritz Diesterweg publishing house, Frankfurt am Main 1973, ISBN 3-425-03748-X

Discography

Newer recordings

  • National Philharmonic Choir Warsaw, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Krzysztof Penderecki, argo 1989
  • WDR and NDR choir, orchestra of the Beethovenhalle Bonn, conductor: Marc Soustrot , MDG 1999
  • Warsaw Choir and Philharmonic , Conductor: Antoni Wit , Naxos 2002

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Otto Tomek, in the booklet to the CD, 1967
  2. ↑ a b c Musical analysis by Albert Jakobik in a concert program of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg on April 9 and 11, 1974
  3. ↑ Meyers Handbuch über die Musik , Ed. Heinrich Lindlar, 4th improved edition, Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim 1971, p. 761
  4. ↑ Tölzer Boys Choir