oh“La Pasión Segun San Marcos” by Svard Golijov Commissioned in 2000 as one of four new Passions to mark the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, the work is now nearly 25 years old, but it’s still striking in its treatment of the Gospel. A riot of rhythm and color, weaving together a variety of Latin American musical styles and cultural traditions, it depicts Christ’s Passion not as a solemn biblical story but as a human crisis in the here and now, retold, retold and re-enacted by the masses, with words taken from Spanish-language gospel pamphlets sold on street corners.
This one-off performance, paired with its ancestor, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, on the opening weekend of the Edinburgh International Festival, was a collaborative venture on an epic scale, with the brilliant Schola Cantorum of Venezuela, which premiered the work and has sung in every performance since, and Scottish National Youth ChoirMember of Royal Scottish National Orchestraexpert (and tireless) percussionists, and a diverse roster of jazz, classical and traditional vocalists and dancers.
It may be exhausting on paper, but onstage it was exhilarating, and while each individual soloist had their standout moments (Luciana Souza’s haunting Kaddish, Sofía Burgos’ delicate Rua Descolorida, some fine acting from alto soloist Gioconda Cabrera), the real triumph here was in the jubilant assemblage of voices, shifting musical styles and diverse instrumental textures, shaped with fluid poise by conductor Joana Carneiro, and supported by the exceptional work of the artistic directors of both choirs.
A capoeira rendition of the St. Matthew Passion, with its choir gesticulating in anger and soloists swaying to the rhythm, is sure to raise some eyebrows, but in Golijov’s multifaceted interpretation, and when performed with such conviction as here, the intertwining of music and movement feels entirely natural. “The ritual that unites us” was the slogan of this year’s festival, and judging by the strength of the standing ovation that instantly greeted the sequence, they seem to be on the right track.
