essay via crucis

essay

By Alain De Ley, artistic administrator of the Vlaams Radiokoor

Of all the stories in the New Testament, that of the crucification and suffering of Christ is perhaps the most poignant – and the most human. Good Friday marked the end of the life of Christ on earth, his resurrection three days later heralded the beginning of Christianity. And over the next millenia that would largely determine the history of the world.

Over the years, composers have written countless musical interpretations or passions, each telling the story of Christ in their own way. We have chosen to create our own version – not with one large composition, such as the St. Matthew Passion, but with 14 works (as many as there are Stations of the Cross) written by composers from the past en the present.

Imagine an encounter between 2 men from the 17th and 18th century and 3 women from the 21st century, telling each other their version of the passion story, thus showing that the Via Crucis is still very much alive. The context does change throughout history, but the suffering of Mary, seeing her son die on the cross, is the same suffering as that of a mother today, losing her child in meaningless war violence.

All too often, the passion is seen from the perspective of the man – the mother or woman who is left behind is forgotten, whereas it is she who makes life continue. And so we have chosen to add a female and contemporary point of view to our passion: the three female composers get the final say, so that they too are (finally) heard.