The magnificent oratorio Pass\u00eda, Op 28, by Hafli\u00f0i Hallgr\u00edmsson will be performed in Hallgr\u00edmskirkja on Good Friday, April 3, at 5 pm.\u00a0Pass\u00eda premiered\u00a0in 2001 to great acclaim and a recording of the oratorio was subsequently widely praised.<\/p>\n
Pass\u00eda was commissioned from Hafli\u00f0i Hallgr\u00edmsson by The Friends of the Arts Society of Hallgr\u00edmskirkja to commemorate 1000 years of Christianity in Iceland and\u00a0premiered\u00a0in Hallgr\u00edmskirkja in February 2001. The following year it was performed again in a revised version and recorded. This third concert performance of the oratorio has been eagerly awaited.<\/p>\n
Pass\u00eda was released on CD by the Finnish recording company Ondine in 2003\u00a0and received\u00a0glowing reviews in several respected international music magazines. The consensus of the critics was that while\u00a0artistically Pass\u00eda is an extremely ambitious work, it is noticably\u00a0accessible and moving.<\/p>\n
“New music for the mind and for the heart” Bavarian Radio<\/p>\n
“Passion for our time” \u00a0BBC<\/p>\n
” A modern religious masterpiece” ***** BBC Music Magazine<\/p>\n
“Music of the most sublime beauty” The International Record Review<\/p>\n
“timeless quality” of this “dramatic, magnificently sung setting of the Passion story from Iceland” ***** \u00a0Gramophone<\/p>\n
Pass\u00eda is closely linked to Hallgr\u00edmskirkja. In the words of the composer: “The noble and peaceful interior of Hallgr\u00edmskirkja (which is named after the poet), as well as the sensitive acoustics of the church, played an important part in the creation of Pass\u00eda. In a sense, this work uses the church as an instrument, as a delicate sounding board for its mysterious content.”<\/p>\n
The oratorio is dedicated to the Motet Choir of Hallgr\u00edmskirkja and the musical director of the church, H\u00f6r\u00f0ur \u00c1skelsson, who received the Icelandic Music Award and the Cultural Prize of the newspaper DV in 2002 for his interpretation of the piece.<\/p>\n