Justin Appel

Dear Friends in Christ,

This Sunday is known as both Palm Sunday and Sunday of the Passion. Traditionally, the two themes were ascribed to separate Sundays, but since the Second Vatican Council, they have been merged into a single liturgy. Thus, not only do we commemorate Jesus entering into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, we also do a full reading (indeed, a dramatic chanting) of the Passion story from Matthew’s Gospel.

It is in this context that the choir will present a multi-movement cantata by the 20th-century British composer Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988), set for chorus, organ, and tenor or soprano soloist. The text of its four movements are by two 17th-century English poets: Patrick Carey (1623-1657) and Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650), the latter of whom had a connection to Cambridge University, where Leighton served as a faculty member.

These texts, especially those by Carey, are a meditation on Christ’s incarnation, suffering, and death. The first two parts contrast the rather vivid image of Jesus freezing as a child and ‘glowing’ with the heat of his rejection in the Garden of Gethsemane. The third part depicts the crucifixion, placing these two indignities together by asking the question: Why did he suffer so? The answer is simply ’twas for thy sake’. Finally, Fletcher’s ‘Hymn’, a well-known text often set to music, acts as a personal reflection on the crucifixion, ‘Drop, drop, slow tears.’

This work utilizes Leighton’s most chromatic and dense harmony to emphasize the cruelty of Christ’s death, and the emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering he endured. The soloist functions as a sort of ‘Evangelist’ as in a passion, while the choir responds with bits of the text.

The final a cappella hymn is one of the great moments in English choral literature. Leighton weaves a beautiful, revolving, placid music of highly introspective quality.

Hear the final ‘Hymn’ from Leighton’s Crucifixus Pro Nobis here (the ‘Hymn’ is at the beginning and end of this video) and a couple of other extracts of his music. The whole work will be sung on Sunday.

Have a blessed Passiontide,
Justin