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Program notes - Hosanna! Music of Palm Sunday |
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The two things that traditionally characterize the music of Palm Sunday are the triumphal songs surrounding Christ’s joyful entry into Jerusalem; and the singing of the Passion, or the Gospel passages that tell the story of his coming betrayal, arrest, and execution. This stark juxtaposition of black and white, of darkness and light, is what I hope to have captured in this concert dedicated to the music of the day. The first half will see the choir split in two, with a quick succession of joyful works sung antiphonally from all around the church, surrounding the audience with a glorious sonic experience. The second half, however, dims the lights metaphorically. The choir will assemble in the front of the church and sing German Renaissance composer Leonhard Lechner’s Johannes Passion (St. John Passion – written in 1594), with separate quartets taking the parts alternately of Jesus, Pontius Pilate, and the other players in the drama (commonly called a “Turba” chorus, for the turbulent crowd scenes). There are two ways, in my opinion, to listen to a work as long as a Passion. One is to follow carefully along with the text and translation, fully immersing yourself in the unfolding drama, the various moods, and the unique text painting the composer makes use of (notice particularly the sopranos on the work “krähen” when the cock crows following Peter’s denial; or the anguished harmonies around the word “kreuzigen” when Jesus is crucified). The other is to sit back and let the work hypnotize you by its dynamic ebb and flow, and the exquisitely tuned harmonies of the choir, as the effort of keeping up in the program may distract you from the full beauty of the work. This approximately 25-minute Passion will lead to the darkest work of the concert, Hugo Distler’s despondent and plaintive motet Fürwahr, er trug unsere Krankheit (“Truly he has borne our infirmities”), the last work written by Distler before committing suicide at the age of 34 under duress from the Nazis. But the concert ends with a ray of light, a premonition of Easter, with Terry Schlenker’s Alleluia, written for St. Martin’s and premiered by us in 2004. Just before this, at Friday night’s concert only, St. Martin’s is joined by the elite choir of Green Mountain High School in Lakewood, called “Shadows of the Mountain,” directed by David Gleason. St. Martin’s has been conducting a choral residency at Green Mountain this semester, working with the young choristers; and the “final exam” of the choir will be their appearance on this concert, singing one work on their own (“Were you there?” arranged by King’s Singers great Bob Chilcott), and joining St. Martin’s on the Schlenker Alleluia at the end. Timothy J.
Krueger © 2011 Timothy J. Krueger |