Passion Dances
for chamber orchestra
Written originally in 2000 and revised and rescored in 2018; based on some electronic miniatures I had written as incidental music for a school Passion Play production in 1996, the four Passion Dances commemorate the events which are celebrated in four days of the Church's year: Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter morning.
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Each movement is founded upon one ot more hymn tunes: the first movement De Profundis takes the Lutheran chorale Aus Tiefer Not as its seed; Hosanna is based on St Theodulf (All Glory, Laud and Honour); Crucifixus begins and ends by referencing a twisted form of Gibbons Song 1 (O thou who at thy eucharist didst pray) in a memory of the last supper, then visiting Dies Irae as the Crucifixion takes place. The last movement, Alleluia, takes two tunes for The Strife is O'er as its basis, also introducing Jesus Christ is Risen Today and The Day of Resurrection in a rich tapestry of orchestral Alleluias to end the suite.
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Click the titles below to listen on SoundCloud.
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