John
Stainer (1840-1901):
The
Crucifixion
The Crucifixion
(subtitled ‘A
Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer’) is a short
oratorio for
choir, tenor and bass soloists and organ.
It was written for Marylebone Parish Church, where the choirmaster was
William Hodge who was also assistant organist to Stainer at St Pauls
Cathedral.
It was first performed on 24 February 1887 with Stainer
conducting and Hodge at
the organ. Five hymns intended for
congregational participation are interspersed in the piece in a similar
way to
the Bach Passions. The text, drawn
largely from the Gospel accounts and other passages of scripture, was
written
by the Revd W. J. Sparrow-Simpson, the son of another St Pauls
colleague. It recounts, in the somewhat sentimental
language of
the time, the Passion of Christ from
Gethsamane until the point of His death.
The music is comparatively
uncomplicated, but it is shot through with the
restrained emotional tension typical of the late Victorian period and
performing
it effectively is not an easy matter. Stainer
himself did not rate The
Crucifixion
highly among his output, and music
critics have often rubbished it; but it has nonetheless become hugely
popular
with audiences. Some of the hymn tunes
(though not the words!) are regularly used in church worship, and ‘God
so loved
the World’ is probably the best-known nineteenth-century church anthem
of all –
and doubly effective when heard in its original context.
Peter
Harbord, North
Yorkshire Chorus
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