Rolle: Lukas-Passion

Kölner Akademie, Willens, Michael Alexander

CPO 555525

Soloists: Siri Thornhill, Elvira Bill, Markus Schäfer, Hugo Hymas, Thilo Dahlmann, Matthias Vieweg

Rolle's masterful St. Luke Passion

After Johann Heinrich Rolle's St. Matthew Passion was recorded a few years ago by the Cologne Academy under its director Michael Alexander Willens (1074581) and presented to the public with great success, now follows the St. Luke Passion by the same composer, composed for the Passion season of 1744. The Gospel of Luke in Martin Luther's translation from chapter 22, verse 39 to the end of chapter 23 serves as the textual basis; unfortunately, the author of the newly composed texts is not known. In Role's dramaturgical concept, a division of the work into several sections can be discerned. Each section contains reporting recitatives, ariosi, turba choruses, possibly structuring interior chorales, and a central aria. A central role is played by the six arias, which on the one hand are resting points in the course of the dramatic events, and on the other hand are intended as a reflection of the individual on the events. Each aria has its own melodic and tonal character and represents a work of art in itself. Role's interpretation of Luke's text forms an important building block for a still outstanding overall description of central and northern German Passion compositions of the 18th century. For his own oeuvre, the work represents an important step toward his later musical dramas because of its consistent section-by-section composition. The music is captivating for its beauty of sound, its melodic and harmonic invention, and its dramatic design. Although it is undoubtedly a youthful work by a man barely thirty years old, his skill and mastery are as unmistakable then as they are now.

CD x 2

CPO

5/4/23

761203552528