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If you put Easter and classical music together, you automatically think of Bach’s famous passions, and nowhere in the world is this link more obvious than in the Netherlands.
In the weeks before Easter, all classical music-loving Dutch visit at least one of the hundreds of performances of the ‘Matthäuspassion’.
Some of them have histories going back decades, with the annual performance in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam dating all the way back to 1874. This year, however, for the first time in more than a century, Bach’s famous setting was replaced by that of another composer.
This year, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra made the bold choice of performing James MacMillan’s St John’s Passion, a piece commissioned by Sir Collin Davies in celebration of his 80th birthday. The change was both shocking and refreshing. MacMillan’s epic piece took the audience out of their comfort zone and shed a completely new light on the 2000-year-old passion story. No charming arias or reassuring basso continuo but biting dissonances and shrill copper that gives the piece gravity.
In his interpretation, MacMillan stayed close to the original texts, only occasionally adding texts from outside of the gospel. The piece centres around a baritone soloist representing Christ. The story is narrated by a small chorus who, in the style of Ancient Greek tragedies, comment on events as they unfold. The remaining characters, both individuals and groups, are represented by a much larger choir, all accompanied by a full symphony orchestra.
Out of these elements, MacMillan creates a piece with enormous variety. He does not hesitate to use diverse and seemingly conflicting influences and manages to forge them into one cohesive piece. These influences, ranging from Eastern European Song and Celtic Folk to traditional hymns, make the piece rich and surprising. Because of this, the ninety minutes long piece stays fascinating and thrilling to the end.
Whereas Bach’s interpretation of the passion is all about discreet and touching emotion, MacMillan's version of the same story shocks and surprises. By doing this, MacMillan captures what the story is all about. Despite this, I doubt that MacMillan’s masterpiece will ever reach the status of Bach’s. Next Easter, we will probably all be listening to familiar baroque sounds again.
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