Passio (Pärt)
| Passio | |
|---|---|
| Passion by Arvo Pärt | |
Album cover
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| Style | tintinnabuli |
| Text | Gospel of John |
| Language | Latin |
| Composed | 1982 |
| Scoring | SATB soloists and choir, oboe, bassoon, violin, cello, organ |
Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem (English: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John, also known as the St. John Passion or simply Passio, 1989) is a passion setting by Arvo Pärt for solo baritone (Jesus), solo tenor (Pilate), solo vocal quartet (Evangelist), choir, violin, oboe, cello, bassoon and organ. The work lasts approximately 70 minutes and is a setting of the Latin text from the Gospel of John, chapters 18 and 19, plus a brief introduction and conclusion.
When Pärt left Estonia for Austria in 1980, he took with him the first sketches for the St. John Passion, which would become the culmination of the tintinnabuli style. He eventually finished the work in 1982 and it was published in 1989. Since then, it has been recorded three times, and remains one of his most popular works. In much the same way that Pärt was inspired by medieval music in his creation of tintinnabuli, here too he is inspired by the earliest monophonic settings of the Passion. The St. John Passion is a through-composed setting of the text of John 18–19, preceded by a short introduction (Exordio) and followed by a brief conclusion (Conclusio). He uses a baritone soloist for Jesus, a tenor for Pilate, and a Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass (SATB) quartet for the evangelist. In addition, there are four solo instruments, oboe, violin, cello and bassoon, organ and SATB choir. The work lasts about 70 minutes and is not broken into movements.
In composing the work, text setting and declamation were foremost in Pärt’s mind: all of the musical elements in the piece, from rhythm to pitch, are in some way determined by the text. Tonally, the work centers on a series of overlapping fifths: D-A-E-B. The rhythmic values are established by the text. Each character has a basic note value, and this is lengthened depending on the punctuation and its position within the phrase. Since a period at the end of a sentence generates a note longer than does a comma in the middle of it, the hierarchy of the textual phrases is reflected in the music.
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