Easter is a time for hunting Easter eggs, eating breakfasts of hot cross buns, and enjoying a Sunday roast dinner, but it is also a period for musical and religious reflection around the world. Let’s explore some of the most well-known music traditionally performed and celebrated at this time of the year.
Passions
The Passion refers to the final days leading up to Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The four Bible Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all recount the passion, and their texts have been used as the basis for many musical retellings of the story, most famously in J S Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions.
The St John Passion is a work for soloists, choir and orchestra and was first performed on Good Friday in 1724. The oratorio is the Passion story that is told by the Evangelist (St John), before handing over to the parts of Jesus, Pilate and Peter with support from the choir.
Stabat Mater
The Stabat Mater is a 13th century hymn.
Telling the story of the Virgin Mary’s grief and suffering at her son’s crucifixion, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s beautiful and popular setting of Stabat Mater is regularly performed during the Easter period as it meditates on the horror of the crucifixion. Throughout the centuries, many composers have set the text to music, but Pergolesi’s setting of the 13th century hymn is for soprano, alto, strings and basso continuo, composed during the composer’s final years.
Messiah
First performed in Dublin in April 1742, Handel’s Messiah is one of the most frequently performed oratorios in the world. Although originally intended for performance at Easter, the piece has today become a favourite at Christmas time and draws on texts from multiple stories of the Bible which narrate the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection. It’s an annual tradition at St Ann’s Church in Dublin, where Messiah’s first premiere was held, to perform the piece at Easter time to remember its special history.
Miserere mei
From the Old Testament, Miserere mei is performed during the Lent and Easter periods and is the Latin text of Psalm 51. The psalm begs God for his forgiveness.
Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere is probably the most famous setting of the text. It was composed during the early 17th century for the Sistine Chapel’s (in the Vatican City, Rome) services during Holy Week, the week leading to Easter Sunday. The piece was so beautiful that the Pope forbade anyone from writing down the music in order to keep it within Rome. It wasn’t until a century and a half later that the young Mozart heard the piece in the Vatican and was able to write it down from memory.
Crucifixus
A popular choice in a religious setting at Easter time, the Crucifixus text (which describes Christ’s crucifixion) is from the Credo (‘I believe’) section of the Latin Mass.
From his Missa Sancti Christophori, Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus for eight voices has become his best-known composition. The entries from the individual choral parts gradually build up with rich harmonic suspensions, reflecting the pain and suffering of the crucifixion. It is now often performed as a standalone piece in liturgical services and is famous in its own right.
However you’re celebrating this year, WNO wishes you a happy and peaceful time this Easter.