Passio - for children
for children choir, soloists and keyboard instrument
Published in 2023
ASc 23-01
Passio - for children
dedicated to István Potyo, conductor of the Saint Michael church in Cluj Text by György Orbán
Selmeczi György: Passion – for Children
For Children’s Choir, Soloists and Keyboard
For years, the composer has been promoting the development of a high-quality contemporary church music repertoire through his numerous compositions. His goal is for his new works, with their simple or moderately difficult technical demands, to find their way to amateur musicians, and thus for the pieces to appear in the musical world of church events. His Passion (2023) goes one step further: he adapts the story of Jesus' suffering for child performers, inspired by a very specific family of musicians with many children. Thus, the musical language of the work not only makes a definite gesture towards simplicity, easy readability and singability, but also features folk music motifs that are likely to be familiar to children or resemble them, both in its musical material and in its text. The lyrics are based on the highly original text of György Orbán's Passion on Hungarian Texts, compiled by the composer himself from the Gospels and folk texts.
The soloists are: Evangelist, Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, Two Angels. The keyboard instrument is not specified, so it can be almost anything (piano, organ, synthesizer) that is available. The instrument joins the small soloists and choir in a very eclectic way: often similar to Bach's four-part chord progressions in his chorale arrangements, at other times illustrating the meaning of the text with lively tone-painting elements. The music presents the story in 20 attacca sections.
dedicated to István Potyo, conductor of the Saint Michael church in Cluj Text by György Orbán
Selmeczi György: Passion – for Children
For Children’s Choir, Soloists and Keyboard
For years, the composer has been promoting the development of a high-quality contemporary church music repertoire through his numerous compositions. His goal is for his new works, with their simple or moderately difficult technical demands, to find their way to amateur musicians, and thus for the pieces to appear in the musical world of church events. His Passion (2023) goes one step further: he adapts the story of Jesus' suffering for child performers, inspired by a very specific family of musicians with many children. Thus, the musical language of the work not only makes a definite gesture towards simplicity, easy readability and singability, but also features folk music motifs that are likely to be familiar to children or resemble them, both in its musical material and in its text. The lyrics are based on the highly original text of György Orbán's Passion on Hungarian Texts, compiled by the composer himself from the Gospels and folk texts.
The soloists are: Evangelist, Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, Two Angels. The keyboard instrument is not specified, so it can be almost anything (piano, organ, synthesizer) that is available. The instrument joins the small soloists and choir in a very eclectic way: often similar to Bach's four-part chord progressions in his chorale arrangements, at other times illustrating the meaning of the text with lively tone-painting elements. The music presents the story in 20 attacca sections.
