Loading AI tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sankt-Bach-Passion (Saint Bach Passion) is an oratorio composed by Mauricio Kagel in 1985 for the tricentenary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. It follows the model of Bach's Passions, but the topic is not biblical, rather refers to Bach's biography. The text includes documents such as Bach's letters to patrons, and excerpts from contemporary biographies. The work is an extended oratorio for soloists, choir, and orchestra. It was premiered in Berlin in 1985, conducted by the composer, and recorded shortly afterwards by the same performers.
| Sankt-Bach-Passion | |
|---|---|
| Oratorio by Mauricio Kagel | |
.jpg) The composer in the year of the premiere | |
| Occasion | tercentary of Bach's birth |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Bach's life in texts from his time |
| Performed | November 1985: Berlin |
| Scoring |
|
Mauricio Kagel received the commission for Sankt-Bach-Passion in 1981.[1] He conceived a work which follows the model of Bach's Passions, but referring to Bach's biography, which is told in contemporary texts, such as his letters to patrons, and excerpts from biographies. Kagel set the text as an oratorio for soloists (mezzosoprano, tenor, and baritone), a narrator, children's choir and choir, organ and orchestra, taking aspects of structure and scoring from Bach's St John Passion.[1][2] Kagel commented: "No one believes in God any more, but everyone believes in Bach".[2] The music contains no quotations or parodies of Bach's music. Compared to Bach's Passion, reflection in arias and chorales is less extended. A reviewer compared the work's seriousness to late works by Hanns Eisler and to Hindemith's Mathis der Maler, and summarized "This is a respectful, even reverent, tribute from one composer to a great predecessor".[3]
The work was premiered, conducted by the composer, as part of the Berliner Festwochen at the Berlin Philharmonie in November 1985,[1] by soloists Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Roland Hermann, narrator Peter Roggisch, organist Gerd Zacher, the Limburger Domsingknaben, the NDR Chor and Südfunk-Chor Stuttgart, and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart. It was recorded shortly afterwards with the same performers.[4]
The text combines contemporary texts, including chorales, which are sometimes slightly changed, to mean Bach instead of Jesus:[5]
In 2002, Paul Griffiths compared recordings of four Passions modeled after Bach's works, commissioned for another Bach-Year in 2000 by the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart: Osvaldo Golijov's Pasión Según San Marcos, Sofia Gubaidulina's St. John Passion, Wolfgang Rihm's Deus Passus, and Tan Dun's Water Passion After St. Matthew. He called Kagel's work "the most intelligent attempt hitherto at a new Passion – and, indeed, the most moving", because Kagel "changed the game by making Bach himself the suffering protagonist."[6]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
