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.
| 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. |
| CD | Hänssler Classic CD 98397: Wolfgang Rihm - Deus Passus |
| About this CD | 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 Cornelia Kallisch, alto |
| Other works | Deus Passus, complete |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl