Graz Cathedral

Pärt’s “Passio”: suffering from another time

Graz Cathedral conductor Melissa Dermastia

(Bild: Michael Dermastia)

The Passion by the most successful contemporary composer Arvo Pärt was performed in Graz Cathedral. It was conducted by the Graz Cathedral conductor Melissa Dermastia.

The starting point is clear. The Passion of Christ based on the Gospel of John, inspired by Gregorian chants and set strictly to the text. Arvo Pärt's "Passio" is not modeled on Bach's Passions; it draws its formal clarity from archaic times and adds a layer of tonal clarity with sparse instrumentation.

A year ago, the Psalm Festival presented the work in an analytical interpretation. Two weeks before Easter Sunday, Graz Cathedral Music now revealed further facets of the work. The cathedral as a performance venue has its good and bad sides: On the one hand, content and location nestle together here, while on the other hand the organ sound dominates over the other instrumental soloists.

Red thread through the work
This made it possible to focus on the singing, where the four evangelists in particular were the harmonizing thread running through the work. Tenor Conrad Hanz would have been a pleasure to hear as Pilate, which Bernd Oliver Fröhlich intoned shakily in the high registers. Georg Klimbacher's bass, secure and uniform in all registers, carried the leaden austerity of the role of Jesus well.

The emotion also arose in the choir of the cathedral choir, which conductor Melissa Dermastia only let loose in the final "Amen". So be it!