St Luke Passion (Penderecki)

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St Luke Passion
by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performance at the Novaya Opera Theatre, Moscow, in 2016
EnglishPassion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St Luke
Full titlePassio et mors Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam
Text
LanguageLatin
Performed30 March 1966 (1966-03-30)
Scoring
  • narrator
  • soprano
  • baritone
  • bass
  • three choirs
  • children's choir
  • orchestra

The St Luke Passion (full title: Passio et mors Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam, or the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St Luke) is a work for

Passion story and contains text from the Gospel of Luke as well as other sources such as the Stabat Mater. Despite the Passion's almost total atonality and use of avant-garde
musical techniques, the musical public appreciated the work's stark power and direct emotional impact and the piece was performed several more times soon after its premiere on 30 March 1966.

Musical content

Compositional techniques

The Passion is almost entirely atonal, except for two

fortissimo by brass or organ. The contrapuntal equivalent of tone clusters is micropolyphony, which is one approach to texture that occurs in this piece (Stein 1979
, 234).

Occasionally, Penderecki employs

B-A-C-H motif. Moreover, David Wordsworth believes that the B-A-C-H motif unites the entire work (Wordsworth 2013, 47). The principle tone row, Cantus Firmus I, is C♯–D–F–E–E♭–F♯–G–G♯–B–B♭–A–C. The tone row of Cantus Firmus II is E–E♭–F–F♯–D–C♯–G–A♭–B♭–A–C–B. The chorus makes use of many extended techniques
, including shouting, speaking, giggling and hissing.

Orchestration

The St Luke Passion is scored for large forces: a

bass soloists (with the baritone singing the role of Christ and the soprano and bass taking other roles as necessary); three mixed choruses and a boys' choir; and a large orchestra
consisting of:

Text

The text of the St Luke Passion is entirely in

Psalms and Lamentations
.

Sections of text

The Passion is divided into two parts and twenty-seven sections, thirteen in Part I and fourteen in Part II. Their titles are as follows.

Part I

  1. O Crux Ave ("O Holy Cross," from the hymn Vexilla Regis prodeunt), chorus and orchestra
  2. Et egressus ibat ("And he went out,"
    Garden of Gethsemane
    ), narrator, baritone and orchestra
  3. Deus Meus ("My God," Christ's prayer at Gethsemane, from Psalm 21), baritone, chorus and orchestra
  4. Domine, quis habitat ("Lord, who shall dwell...", from Psalms 14, 4 and 15), soprano and orchestra
  5. Adhuc eo loquente ("And yet while he spake," Judas's betrayal of Christ), narrator, baritone, chorus and orchestra
  6. Ierusalem ("Jerusalem," from the Lamentation of Jeremiah), chorus and orchestra
  7. Ut quid, Domine ("Why, Lord," from Psalm 9), chorus a cappella
  8. Comprehendentes autem eum ("Then they took him," Peter's denial of Christ), narrator, soprano, bass, chorus and orchestra
  9. Iudica me, Deus ("Give sentence with me, O God," from Psalm 42), bass and orchestra
  10. Et viri, qui tenebant illum ("And the men that held Jesus...," mocking of Christ), narrator, baritone, chorus and orchestra
  11. Ierusalem (text identical to section 6)
  12. Miserere mei, Deus ("Be merciful to me, O God," from Psalm 55), chorus a cappella
  13. Et surgens omnis ("And the multitude arose...," Christ's trial before Pilate and death sentence), narrator, baritone, bass, chorus and orchestra

Part II

  2. Et in pulverem ("And into the dust," from Psalm 21), chorus and orchestra
  3. Et baiulans sibi crucem ("And bearing his cross," the road to Calvary), narrator and orchestra
  4. Popule meus ("My people," from the Improperia), chorus and orchestra
  5. Ibi crucifixerunt eum ("There they crucified him," the crucifixion of Christ), narrator and orchestra
  6. Crux fidelis ("O faithful cross," from Pange lingua gloriosi proelium certaminis), soprano, chorus and orchestra
  7. Iesus autem dicebat ("Then said Jesus," Christ's forgiveness), narrator, baritone and orchestra
  8. In pulverem mortis ("Into the dust of death," from Psalm 21), chorus a cappella
  9. Et stabat populus ("And the people stood," Christ's mocking on the cross), narrator, chorus and orchestra
  10. Unus autem ("And one of them...," the good and bad thieves), narrator, baritone, bass, chorus and orchestra
  11. Stabant autem iuxta crucem ("Now there stood by the cross," Jesus addressing his mother and John, from the Gospel of John), narrator, baritone and orchestra
  12. Stabat Mater ("The mother stood...," from the Stabat Mater sequence), chorus a cappella
  13. Erat autem fere hora sexta ("And it was about the sixth hour," Christ's death account from both Luke and John), narrator, baritone, chorus and orchestra
  14. Alla breve (a tempo marking in
    duple meter
    ), orchestra alone
  15. In pulverem mortis... In te, Domine, speravi ("Into the dust of death...In thee, O Lord, I have put my trust" from Psalm 30), soprano, baritone, bass, chorus and orchestra

References

  • Stein, Leon. 1979. Structure and Style: The Study and Analysis of Musical Forms. Miami: Summy-Birchard.
  • Wordsworth, David. 2013. "November and December". Choir and Organ Magazine, pp. 47–51. Miami: Summy-Birchard.[verification needed]

Further reading

  • Robinson, Ray, and Allen Winold. 1983. A Study of the Penderecki St. Luke Passion. Edition Moeck 4026. Celle: Moeck.
    ISBN 9783875490169
    .
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