La passione (Mayr)

La passione di Gesù Cristo, is a 1794 Italian-language oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra by Simon Mayr, to an adapted version of the famous libretto La passione di Gesù Cristo by Metastasio. Unlike Mayr's four Latin-language oratorios to librettos by Giuseppe Foppa for the Conservatorio dei Mendicanti, La passione was written for a church, and not limited to girls voices.[1]

Recordings

• La passione, with Stabat Mater in C Minor for four voices and orchestra Maria Jette (soprano) Claudia Schneider (contralto) Hartmut Schröder (tenor) Robert Merwald (bass) Vokalensemble Ingolstadt Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt. Franz Hauk, director and harpsichord Recorded 7, 9, 10 April 2001 . Guild [2]

References

1. John Allitt Giovanni Simone Mayr: vita, musica, pensiero 1995 p376 "La Passione"
2. Review "'La Passione' is in two parts. Part 1, on the way to Calvary, opens with a sinfonia followed by the opening chorus. From then on Mayr dramatises the text via a sequence of recitatives (mainly accompanied) and arias. Part 2, at the foot of the Cross, follows a similar pattern and finishes with a final chorus. The key word here is dramatises. This is a dramatic, almost operatic work. Not for Mayr the quiet contemplation of the more Germanic oratorios. The opening sinfonia is surprisingly cheerful and would not come amiss as the overture to an opera buffo; evidently this is meant to suggest Victory over Death. The following chorus is also very operatic, intermingling chorus with solo interjections. Mayr's style hovers between the world familiar to Mozart and Haydn and the style that was to become the early 19th Century Italian opera."