''La passione di Gesù Cristo'', is a 1794 Italian-language

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

for soloists, choir and orchestra by

Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the ...

, to an adapted version of the famous libretto ''

La passione di Gesù Cristo LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' by

Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi (3 January 1698 – 12 April 1782), better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio (), was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of ''opera seria'' libretti. Early life Me ...

. Unlike Mayr's four Latin-language oratorios to librettos by Giuseppe Foppa for the

Conservatorio dei Mendicanti San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti is an ancient church in the sestiere of Castello, Venice, northern Italy, with a facade facing a Rio of the same name. It now serves as the chapel of the Civic Hospital of Venice. History By 1224, a hospital for lep ...

, ''La passione'' was written for a church, and not limited to girls voices.

Recordings

* ''La passione'', with Stabat Mater in C Minor for four voices and orchestra Maria Jette (soprano) Claudia Schneider (contralto) Hartmut Schröder (tenor) Robert Merwald (bass) Vokalensemble Ingolstadt Georgisches Kammerorchester Ingolstadt. Franz Hauk, director and harpsichord Recorded 7, 9, 10 April 2001 . Guild Review
"'La Passione' is in two parts. Part 1, on the way to Calvary, opens with a sinfonia followed by the opening chorus. From then on Mayr dramatises the text via a sequence of recitatives (mainly accompanied) and arias. Part 2, at the foot of the Cross, follows a similar pattern and finishes with a final chorus. The key word here is dramatises. This is a dramatic, almost operatic work. Not for Mayr the quiet contemplation of the more Germanic oratorios. The opening sinfonia is surprisingly cheerful and would not come amiss as the overture to an opera buffo; evidently this is meant to suggest Victory over Death. The following chorus is also very operatic, intermingling chorus with solo interjections. Mayr's style hovers between the world familiar to Mozart and Haydn and the style that was to become the early 19th Century Italian opera."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Passione, La 1794 compositions Oratorios by Simon Mayr