The Crucifixion (Stainer)
Encyclopedia
The Crucifixion: A Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer is an oratorio
composed by John Stainer
in 1887. It is scored for a SATB
choir
and organ
, and features solos for bass
and tenor
.
The text was written by W. J. Sparrow Simpson, the librettist of Stainer's two earlier oratorios, The Daughter of Jairus and Mary Magdalene. The work is dedicated "to my pupil and friend W. Hodge and the choir of Marylebone Church
", who first performed it on February 24, 1887, the day after Ash Wednesday
.
Although the composer Ernest Walker dismissed the work, writing in 1924 that "Musicians today have no use for The Crucifixion", and even Stainer characterized his work as "rubbish," the work continues to be recorded and performed today.
The oratorio consists of the following movements:
Stainer's work has in recent times been performed in an orchestrated version. For instance Craig Hawkins' arrangement of the work has been performed in the USA (2004 premiere, New York) and the UK (Norwich, 2010).
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
composed by John Stainer
John Stainer
Sir John Stainer was an English composer and organist whose music, though not generally much performed today , was very popular during his lifetime...
in 1887. It is scored for a SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, and features solos for bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
and tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
.
The text was written by W. J. Sparrow Simpson, the librettist of Stainer's two earlier oratorios, The Daughter of Jairus and Mary Magdalene. The work is dedicated "to my pupil and friend W. Hodge and the choir of Marylebone Church
St Marylebone Parish Church
-First church:The first church for the parish was built in the vicinity of the present Marble Arch c.1200, and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.-Second church:...
", who first performed it on February 24, 1887, the day after Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
.
Although the composer Ernest Walker dismissed the work, writing in 1924 that "Musicians today have no use for The Crucifixion", and even Stainer characterized his work as "rubbish," the work continues to be recorded and performed today.
The oratorio consists of the following movements:
- And They Came to a Place Named Gethsemane (tenor recitative)
- The Agony (tenor and bass solo and chorus)
- Processional to Calvary (organ solo) and "Fling Wide the Gates" (chorus and tenor solo)
- And When They Were Come (bass recitative)
- The Mystery of the Divine Humiliation (hymn)
- He Made Himself of No Reputation (bass recitative)
- The Majesty of the Divine Humiliation tenor solo
- And As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent (bass recitative)
- God So Loved the World (chorus or quartet a cappella)
- Litany of the Passion (hymn)
- Jesus Said, 'Father, Forgive Them' (tenor and male chorus recitative)
- So Thou Liftest Thy Divine Petition (tenor and bass solo duet)
- The Mystery of the Intercession (hymn)
- And One of the Malefactors (bass solo and male chorus)
- The Adoration of the Crucified (hymn)
- When Jesus Therefore Saw His Mother (tenor solo and male chorus)
- Is It Nothing to You? (bass solo)
- The Appeal of the Crucified (chorus)
- After This, Jesus Knowing That All Things Were Now Accomplished (tenor and male chorus recitative)
- For the Love of Jesus (hymn)
Stainer's work has in recent times been performed in an orchestrated version. For instance Craig Hawkins' arrangement of the work has been performed in the USA (2004 premiere, New York) and the UK (Norwich, 2010).
External links
- Complete work available from the Choral Public Domain Library
- Complete text available from the Choral Public Domain Library
- Hawkins' arrangement of the work announced on ChoralNet
- Coro Nostro Chamber Choir Recordings, featuring MP3 and OGG samples of God so Loved the World
- Appreciation & a review of SigCD176