wolfgang Rihm
About the composer
Wolfgang Rihm was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1952. While still in high school he began his studies in composition, studying (a.o.) with Humphrey Searle and Karlheinz Stockhausen. While occupying a number of teaching positions he composed a number of opera’s (Faust and Yorick, Jacob Lenz, The Hamlet Machine), which won him several awards. Since 1985 Rihm is professor of composition at the Karlsruhe Music Academy. In 1998 he received an honorary doctorate from the Free University of Berlin.
For the European Musical Festival 2000 in Stuttgart the International Bachakademie commissioned four composers (Tan Dun, Osvaldo Golijov, Sofia Gubaidulina and Wolfgang Rihm) to compose a Passion according to one of the Evangelists. As 2000 was the international Bach-year it seemed an interesting idea to follow the great tradition set by Bach and his contemporaries. Wolfgang Rihm chose St.Luke. In his “Deus Passus, Fragments of a St.Luke Passion” he uses not only biblical texts, but also texts from German poets and parts of the Stabat Mater poem.
About the Stabat Mater
| Date: | 2000 |
| Performers: | Mezzo-soprano, Alto, strings and harp. |
| Length: | 4.54 minutes |
| Particulars: | Rihm's Passion is described as dark and spellbinding, and this goes certainly for part 24, the Stabat Mater. The two dark voices float through the accompaniment of the string instrument, interpunctuated by sharp individual notes. |
| Textual variations: | Two parts can be discerned, the first consisting of stanzas 1 and 2, plus the first line of stanza 3. The second part uses stanzas 7 and 8, which describe the death of Christ. |
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Information about the recording
| CD: | Hänssler Classic CD 98397: Wolfgang Rihm – Deus Passus |
| More info: | The 2-CD box contains a complete recording of the St.Luke’s Passion by Wolfgang Rihm, based on the premiere at the European Music Festival 2000 in Stuttgart. I bought this CD on the Internet, Klassikonline, 2001 |
| Orchestra: | Bach-Collegium Stuttgart |
| Conductor: | Helmuth Rilling |
| Soloists: | Iris Vermillon, mezzo-soprano |
| Other works: | Deus Passus, complete |
| Code: | RIH-01 |
