Passion Oratorio

Carl Loewe is known nowadays almost exclusively as a composer of ballads, but he was close to the spirit of his time and also composed a number of oratorios for the amateur choirs which became so numerous in the Biedermeier period. Das Sühnopfer des neuen Bundes reveals a wealth of expressivity using only a modest scoring.

The solo parts can easily be performed by good amateurs, the well-known chorales give audiences the opportunity to join in the singing,and the scoring, mainly for small string group, underlines the emotions expressed by the soloists. In this oratorio we can hear Loewe’s admiration for the Bach Passions, yet his characteristic musical language, typical of the time, shows that something new could develop from it.