Passion and Resurrection (2006) for soprano soloist, vocal quartet, choir, and string orchestra. Instead of using the traditional settings of this story from one of the four Gospels, Ešenvalds constructs his own libretto from a variety of liturgical sources including the Byzantine liturgy, the Stabat Mater, and passages from Job, Isaiah, and the book of Psalms. The piece begins with a vocal quartet singing a portion of a Renaissance motet by the Spanish composer Cristóbal de Morales. The string orchestra enters next in a completely different key, but the vocalists pay no attention, continuing their prayer, oblivious to the dissonance around them. The quartet returns throughout the work as a dispassionate Greek chorus (or perhaps the voice of 'the church'), commenting on the events, but taking no part in them, seldom resting in the same key as the orchestra. Next the soprano soloist appears in the role of Mary Magdalene, watching the events of the Passion and wondering if her own sins are to blame for the horror she witnesses. The choir enters as a divine voice of forgiveness; the choir has the most complex part in this work, having to constantly change the role they play in this drama. After Mary is forgiven, the choir becomes the crowd that first narrates, then witnesses, and finally executes the crucifixion. Ešenvalds' music for this scene is graphic and chilling, not shying away from the violence of this act. The scene ends with the entire choir as the voice of Jesus asking God to forgive the people who are killing him. Ešenvalds' depiction of Christ's death at the end of the third movement is equally vivid with every element of the ensemble (solo soprano, quartet, solo violin and orchestra) playing simultaneously, but layered chaotically, each needing their own cathartic release from pain. The remainder of the work depicts humanity's response to the crucifixion: an alternation between sections of meditative contemplation and those of deepest sadness, leading to the Resurrection which appears not with the joyful music we are accustomed to, but with the same terror present at the crucifixion. Ešenvalds' spectators, it seems, are just as terrified as we might be at the spectacle of a man rising from the grave. The oratorio concludes with a more modern perspective as we are invited to make peace with what has happened and contemplate the possibility of eternity. The soprano soloist, small vocal ensemble, and full chorus combine to chant a final mantra in alternation, 'Mariam Rabboni' as Mary sees Jesus from beyond the grave and follows him into eternity. The Passion story has been set to music many times, but where most settings of the Resurrection end with triumphant Hallelujahs, Ešenvalds through his choice of texts and music gives the most personal, soft and loving vision of life and love beyond the bounds of death.

Writer: Ethan Sperry