Passion

What it means

A Passion (from Latin passio, "suffering") is a musical setting of the story of Jesus Christ's suffering according to one of the four Gospels. It is traditionally performed in Holy Week. Its text tells of the interrogation, sentencing, crucifixion and death of Jesus. In music the genre ranges from the monophonic sung account to the great oratorio.

Musical use

In the Middle Ages priests delivered the Passion in chant; there were different pitch ranges for the roles of Jesus, narrator and crowd. Later polyphonic choruses were added for the crowd scenes (responsorial Passion). Heinrich Schütz created sacred Passions without orchestra in the 17th century. In the 18th century the oratorio Passion arose, with arias, recitatives and chorales, whose high points are Johann Sebastian Bach's St John Passion (1724) and St Matthew Passion (c. 1727, revised 1736).

The Passion should be distinguished from the oratorio, which also treats other subjects, and from the requiem, the Mass for the dead.

Performance practice

When you sing in a Passion, think of the narrative text: as Evangelist or choir you are narrator or crowd. Pay attention to clear diction and let the chorale sound calm and simple as the moment of the congregation.