{"id":14988,"date":"2022-04-12T09:38:18","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T07:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=3494"},"modified":"2022-04-12T23:23:28","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T21:23:28","slug":"six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter\/","title":{"rendered":"Six of the best: pieces of classical music for Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By BBC Music Magazine\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

1) Johann Sebastian Bach<\/a>: St Matthew Passion<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0St Matthew Passion<\/em>\u00a0is a masterpiece that many people know well, but few tire of hearing. One of only two\u00a0JS Bach<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0passion settings still in existence (the\u00a0St John<\/em>\u00a0is the only other to have survived), the piece was originally performed in Leipzig on Good Friday 1727, although the score as we know it dates from 1743-6.<\/p>\n

The work\u2019s two halves were originally intended to be sung on either side of the Good Friday sermon \u2013 a test of the piety of the most ardent churchgoers (even performances\u00a0without<\/em>\u00a0the sermon tend to last over two-and-a-half hours).<\/p>\n

So why do we love it so much? Could it be those intricate baroque figures that tug at the heartstrings? Or the effortless coupling of soli and chorus; of arioso with aria? Perhaps it\u2019s simply the sheer number of terrific tunes that litter the work.<\/p>\n

John Eliot Gardiner\u2019s version with the Monteverdi Choir<\/a><\/strong> and English Baroque Soloists<\/a><\/strong> remains one of our all-time favourite recordings of the work.<\/p>\n\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/st-georges-day"\">The best classical music for St George\u2019s Day<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/six-best-pieces-music-inspired-birdsong"\"><strong>Six of the best pieces of music inspired by birdsong<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>2) <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/thomas-tallis"\">Thomas Tallis<\/a>: Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/thomas-tallis"\">Tallis<\/a><\/strong> composed his\u00a0<em>Lamentations<\/em> around 1565-70, when he was in his early sixties. Setting Holy Week bible lessons to music was a trend that had developed on the Catholic continent during the early 1400s. Nevertheless, by the mid-16th century England had gamely caught up and the practice was enjoying a brief flourish of popularity.<\/p>\n<p>Although the jury is still out on <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/thomas-tallis"\"><strong>Tallis<\/strong><\/a>\u2018 religious affiliations (he may have been Catholic at a time when this was politically inadvisable), the pieces could well have formed part of the Maundy Thursday liturgy in his lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>These settings of verses from the Book of Jeremiah are among <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/thomas-tallis"\"><strong>Tallis<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s most expressive works. The composer used all the compositional techniques available to him to squeeze every last ounce of poignancy from the text.<\/p>\n<p>The five vocal lines imitate, suspend, clash and build towards the final section: \u2018Jerusalem, turn again to the Lord your God!\u2019<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Lamentations\" of=\"\" jeremiah=\"\" by=\"\" thomas=\"\" tallis=\"\" tenebrae=\"\" live=\"\" recording=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rgRXLN6nlVU?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul><li><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-classical-music-spring"\"><strong>The best classical music for spring<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-choral-works-passiontide\/"\"><strong>The best choral works for Passiontide<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\""standard-card-new__article-title"\" href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-easter-hymns\/"\">Best Easter hymns: our top five choices<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>3) <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/nikolay-rimsky-korsakov"\">Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov<\/a>: Russian Easter Festival Overture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This 1888 overture is named for the <em>Svetl\u00efy prazdnik<\/em> or \u2018Bright holiday\u2019, as Easter is known in Russia.<\/p>\n<p>An avowed atheist, <strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/nikolay-rimsky-korsakov"\">Rimsky-Korsakov<\/a><\/strong> wrote that he wanted to capture \u2018the transition from the solemnity and mystery of the evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious celebrations of Easter Sunday morning\u2019. The piece paints vividly the explosion of light and colour at the end of a long, hard Russian winter.<\/p>\n<p>Religious and pagan themes are entwined at the very heart of the work: <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/nikolay-rimsky-korsakov"\"><strong>Rimsky-Korsakov<\/strong><\/a> borrowed themes from the <em>Obikhod<\/em>, a collection of Orthodox chants that since 1848 had been a mandatory part of the liturgy for every church in Russia.<\/p>\n<p>These austere motifs shine through the wild textures of the orchestra, no more so than at 8\u201935 when a solo tenor trombone (\u2018a piena voce\u2019) evokes the chanting of a priest.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Rimsky-Korsakov\" russian=\"\" easter=\"\" festival=\"\" overture=\"\" op.=\"\" gergiev=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hbDYtAHTQoE?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul><li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-choral-music-easter\/"\"><strong>The best choral music for Easter<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-recordings-respighis-pines-rome\/"\"><strong>The best recordings of Respighi\u2019s\u00a0<em>Pines of Rome<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>4) James MacMillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>MacMillan<\/strong>\u2019s cantata for choir and string orchestra was commissioned by BBC Television and premiered in seven nightly episodes during Holy Week in 1994. The piece is a setting of the final sentences uttered by Jesus as he lay dying on the cross.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"\/\/www.auroraorchestra.com\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" noreferrer=\"\">Aurora Orchestra<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Nicholas Collon recently described it as \u2018one of the greatest sacred pieces written in the last 100 years\u2019 \u2013 the writing is dramatic, emotionally-charged and extraordinarily moving.<\/p>\n<p>Mantra-like settings of the gospel texts are well ornamented like many of Macmillan\u2019s vocal works. The first movement is particularly moving with the plainsong-like chant of the sopranos and altos underpinned by savagely discordant murmurings in the strings.<\/p>\n<p>Not one to listen to if you\u2019re feeling fragile, though.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Soundstreams\" presents:=\"\" seven=\"\" last=\"\" words=\"\" from=\"\" the=\"\" cross=\"\" by=\"\" james=\"\" macmillan=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zMpeJQqlO6g?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/bbc-music-best-recordings-allegri-miserere"\">The best recordings of Allegri\u2019s <em>Miserere<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-pieces-music-inspired-love"\"><strong>T<\/strong><strong>he best pieces of music inspired by love<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>5) <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/gustav-mahler"\">Gustav Mahler<\/a>: Symphony No 2 \u2018Resurrection\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/gustav-mahler"\">Mahler<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s second symphony makes for great Passiontide listening. The journey from the tension of the first movements to the resolution of the finale mirrors Easter\u2019s themes of destruction and redemption \u2013 hence the unofficial \u2018resurrection\u2019 title.<\/p>\n<p>The symphony took six years to complete and was first performed in 1895. <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/gustav-mahler"\"><strong>Mahler<\/strong><\/a> always planned for the fifth movement to feature voices but lacked inspiration for a text until 1894, when he heard a setting of Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock\u2019s <em>Die Aufersterhung<\/em> (\u2018The Resurrection) performed at the funeral of his colleague and mentor, Hans von B\u00fclow.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/gustav-mahler"\"><strong>Mahler<\/strong><\/a> was deeply moved. \u2018It struck me like lightning, this thing,\u2019 he wrote to a friend, \u2018and everything was revealed to me clear and plain.\u2019 He borrowed the first eight lines of Klopstock\u2019s poem and supplied a further twenty or so himself.<\/p>\n<p>Halfway through the final movement, the choir comes in with the words: \u2018Rise again! Yes, rise again will you, my dust, after a short rest!\u2019<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Gustav\" mahler:=\"\" symphony=\"\" no.=\"\" festival=\"\" orchestra=\"\" claudio=\"\" abbado=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4MPuoOj5TIw?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-recordings-holsts-planets"\">The best recordings of Holst\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Planets<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/5-best-works-clara-schumann"\">Five of the best works by Clara Schumann<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>6) <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/francis-poulenc"\">Francis Poulenc<\/a>: Quatre motets pour un temps de p\u00e9nitence<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The critic Claude Rostand famously described\u00a0<strong><a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/francis-poulenc"\">Poulenc<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0as \u2018le moine et le voyou\u2019 \u2013 half monk, half rascal. Though legendary in Parisian social circles as a bit of a dilettante, the death of a close friend in 1936 prompted <a href=\""http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/francis-poulenc"\"><strong>Poulenc<\/strong><\/a> to make a religious pilgrimage that led to a dramatic personal transformation.<\/p>\n<p>While he retained something of the rascal throughout his career, much of the composer\u2019s work after this time bears the hallmarks of a deep and abiding spirituality.<\/p>\n<p>This set of four Lenten songs, completed in 1939, are among his most popular choral works; notable for their sense of restraint, they display a beauty and subtlety appropriate to their somewhat gloomy subject matter. Yet the songs are as dramatic as they are devotional.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Francis\" poulenc=\"\" quatre=\"\" motets=\"\" pour=\"\" un=\"\" temps=\"\" de=\"\" p=\"\" wdr=\"\" rundfunkchor=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AM3bKbdpKI8?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Christina Kenny<\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By BBC Music Magazine Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 at 12:00 am 1) Johann Sebastian Bach: St Matthew Passion The\u00a0St Matthew Passion\u00a0is a masterpiece that many people know well, but few tire of hearing. One of only two\u00a0JS Bach\u00a0passion settings still in existence (the\u00a0St John\u00a0is the only other to have survived), the piece was originally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14989,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter.jpg",625,350,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter-300x168.jpg",300,168,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter.jpg",625,350,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter.jpg",625,350,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter.jpg",625,350,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/04\/six-of-the-best-pieces-of-classical-music-for-easter.jpg",625,350,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By BBC Music Magazine Published: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 at 12:00 am 1) Johann Sebastian Bach: St Matthew Passion The\u00a0St Matthew Passion\u00a0is a masterpiece that many people know well, but few tire of hearing. One of only two\u00a0JS Bach\u00a0passion settings still in existence (the\u00a0St John\u00a0is the only other to have survived), the piece was originally…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/14988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}