__NOTOC__ ''The Crucifixion: A Meditation on the Sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer'' is an

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 ...

composed by

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...

in 1887. It is scored for a

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and organ, and features solos for bass and

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

. Stainer intended the piece to be within the scope of most

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

choirs; it includes five

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s for congregational participation. The text was written by W J Sparrow Simpson, the

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

of Stainer's earlier cantata ''Mary Magdalene''. The work is dedicated "to my pupil and friend W. Hodge and the choir of Marylebone Church", who first performed it on 24 February 1887, the day after Ash Wednesday. There have been performances in Marylebone Church annually since then. The work premiered on 24 February 1887 and continues to be performed today. The oratorio has been recorded several times, including a popular recording released by RCA Victor in 1930, featuring

Richard Crooks Richard Alexander Crooks (June 26, 1900 – September 29, 1972) was an American tenor and a leading singer at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Biography He was born the second son of Alexander and Elizabeth Crooks on June 26, 1900 in Trenton, N ...

and

Lawrence Tibbett Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone, he sang leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

. There is a modern (2016) recording by the Choir of St. Marylebone Parish Church with Thomas Allery (organ), conducted by Gavin Roberts. Stainer's work has in recent times been performed in an orchestrated version. For instance Craig Hawkins' arrangement of the work has been performed in the USA (2004 premiere, New York) and the UK (Norwich, 2010).

Barry Rose Barry Michael Rose OBE FRAM FRSCM HonFRCO (born 24 May 1934) is a choir trainer and organist. He is best known for founding the choir and the pattern of daily sung worship at the new Guildford Cathedral in 1961, as well as directing the music a ...

has also produced an orchestration.

Structure

The oratorio consists of the following movements: #And They Came to a Place Named Gethsemane (''tenor recitative'') – text from

Mark 14 Mark 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the plot to kill Jesus, his anointing by a woman, the Last Supper, predictions of his betrayal, and Peter the Apostle's three deni ...

:32 #The Agony (''tenor and bass solo and chorus'') – including text from Mark 14:46, 53, 60, 61–64, 15:1, 15–16 #Processional to Calvary (''organ solo'') and "Fling Wide the Gates" (''chorus and tenor solo'') #And When They Were Come (''bass recitative'') – text from

Luke 23 Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as ...

:33 #The Mystery of the Divine Humiliation (''hymn'') #He Made Himself of No Reputation (''bass recitative'') – text from

Philippians 2 Philippians 2 is the second chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle about mid-50s to early 60s AD and addressed to the Christians in Philippi. Jesuit theologian ...

:7–8 #The Majesty of the Divine Humiliation ''tenor solo'' #And As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent (''bass recitative'') – text from

John 3 John 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It deals with Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, one of the Jewish pharisees, and John the Baptist's continued testimony regarding Jesus. Baptist pre ...

:14–15 #God So Loved the World (''chorus or quartet a cappella'') – text from John 3:16–17 #Litany of the Passion (''hymn'') #Jesus Said, 'Father, Forgive Them' (''tenor and male chorus recitative'') – text from Luke 23:34 #So Thou Liftest Thy Divine Petition (''tenor and bass solo duet'') #The Mystery of the Intercession (''hymn'') #And One of the Malefactors (''bass solo and male chorus'') – text from Luke 23:39–43 #The Adoration of the Crucified (''hymn'') #When Jesus Therefore, Saw His Mother (''tenor solo and male chorus'') – text from

John 19 John 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that John composed this Gospel.Holman Illustrated ...

:26–27,

Matthew 27 Matthew 27 is the 27th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, part of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. This chapter contains Matthew's record of the day of the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Scottish theologian William Robertson Ni ...

:45, Mark 15:34 #Is It Nothing to You? (''bass solo'') – text from Lamentations 1:12 #The Appeal of the Crucified (''chorus'') #After This, Jesus Knowing That All Things Were Now Accomplished (''tenor and male chorus recitative'') – text from John 19:28, 30, Luke 23:46 # For the Love of Jesus (''hymn'')

Critical opinion

The composer Ernest Walker dismissed the work, writing in 1924 that "Musicians today have no use for ''The Crucifixion''".

Edmund Fellowes Edmund Horace Fellowes (11 November 1870 – 21 December 1951), was a Church of England clergyman and musical scholar who became well known for his work in promoting the revival of sixteenth and seventeenth century English music. Life and work ...

said: "It suffers primarily from the extreme poverty, not to say triviality, of the musical ideas dealing with a subject which should make the highest demand for dignity of treatment". Kenneth Long said that Stainer had a libretto "which for sheer banality and naïveté would be hard to beat". Stainer himself characterised his work as "rubbish". In his ''A Short History of English Church Music'',

Erik Routley Erik Reginald Routley (; 31 October 1917, Brighton, UK – 8 October 1982, Nashville TN) was an English Congregational churchman, theologian and musician and arguably the most significant hymnologist of the 20th century. His nearly 40 books on the ...

traced ''The Crucifixion'' as the archetypal work that others imitated, and often diluted. Maunder's ''Olivet to Calvary'' (1904) is sometimes performed as an alternative to ''The Crucifixion''.

References

External links

* Complete work available from the Choral Public Domain Library * Complete text available from the Choral Public Domain Library
Hawkins' arrangement of the work announced on ChoralNet
featuring MP3 and OGG samples of ''God so Loved the World''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crucifixion, The 1887 compositions Oratorios Compositions by John Stainer Passion settings