The Passion Of Christ In Music

As part of its observances of Holy Week, St. James Episcopal Church, La Grange, will present a special musical and narrative service at 3 pm on Good Friday, April 15.

The Gospel story of Christ’s Passion will be told in the style of Reader’s Theatre, directed by Dr. James Ayres. A choir composed of singers from several area churches will present musical selections at key intervals in the narration. Musical direction is by Don Kirby, accompaniment by Mary Ann Hatfield.

The tradition of singing the Passion story began in the early centuries of the Christian church. To add solemnity to Holy Week services, priests would chant the appointed Gospel account rather than simply read it.

By the 13th century, these intonations had developed into dramatic narrations with soloists playing the key roles. By the mid-17th century, the Reformation had led to a distinctly German oratorio Passion set in the vernacular, employing more operatic recitatives, arias, choruses, and instrumental movements.

These oratorio Passions reached their pinnacle in the great St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach. Heinrich Schütz, considered the greatest Lutheran composer prior to Bach, composed his Seven Last Words in the early 17th century. In order to include all seven sayings Christ spoke during the crucifixion, Schütz created a composite text from all four Gospels.

Hadyn composed an instrumental work on the Seven Last Words in 1787 and later added choral parts, but no composer is known to have created a major choral setting of this unique version of the Passion story until Théodore Dubois in 1867, over two centuries after Schütz.

This years’ service at St. James will include selections from two major works that relate the Passion Narrative: The Crucifixion by John Stainer (1887) and The Seven Last Words of Christ by Théodore Dubois (1867).

St. James Episcopal Church is located at 156 N. Monroe, La Grange. All are invited for this 3 pm, April 15 service. For more information, please call the church: 979-968-3910.