The members of the parish choir are working hard on preparing our Holy Week oratorio, The Passion According to Saint Mark. This dramatic and moving setting of the Passion story was conceived by the Revd Eric Milner-White, Dean of King’s College Cambridge (who also gave us the modern Nine Lessons and Carols), and the music was written by Irish composer (and Cambridge Professor of Music) Charles Wood, who died one hundred years ago this year.
The story is told by an Evangelist narrator (following the model of J. S. Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions), with the parts of Jesus, Pilate and other characters in the story sung by soloists. The choir acts both as the crowd and as the vehicle for the most sacred moments of the text. Wood’s church music remains popular in Anglican cathedral but his output is otherwise neglected, especially in his native Ireland. The understated St Mark Passion is one of his last and greatest works.
The Choral Union and Choral Scholars will perform this piece in St Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick on Palm Sunday 29 March, and in Sandford Church on Wednesday 1 April. Both performances will be accompanied by distinguished organist Peter Barley. Do come along on 1 April to hear this rarely performed masterpiece. David O’Shea