The influence of Bach's Passion settings is so great that any composer taking up the form can only feel what has been called the anxiety of influence. But this version of the St. John Passion by British composer Bob Chilcott is so well thought out, and so original in dealing with the inherited material, that it will compel the admiration even of those not especially enamored of contemporary British church music and its sometimes too-sunny tone. Chilcott does not attempt to shed the Bachian models entirely, but he devises ...
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The influence of Bach's Passion settings is so great that any composer taking up the form can only feel what has been called the anxiety of influence. But this version of the St. John Passion by British composer Bob Chilcott is so well thought out, and so original in dealing with the inherited material, that it will compel the admiration even of those not especially enamored of contemporary British church music and its sometimes too-sunny tone. Chilcott does not attempt to shed the Bachian models entirely, but he devises convincing contemporary equivalents for them. His setting consists of diverse elements. First are narrative passages from the King James translation of the Bible, with an evangelist describing the action and soloists and the choir taking up the words of Jesus, Pontius Pilate, and the crowd demanding Jesus' head. Each of these is distinguished by its own instrumental accompaniment, and Chilcott's melodic characterizations are at once simple, flexible, and dramatically vivid. These...
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