The German-Italian composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (a pupil of Josef Rheinberger) enjoyed great success with his comic operas at the beginning of the 20th century. His early work Die neugierigen Frauen (Inquisitive Women), which premiered in Munich in 1903, was later performed under Toscanini at New York’s Met. One of Wolf-Ferrari’s rare smaller choral works is the short religious song La Passione op. 21, featuring a traditional Tuscan text similar to those sung at Passion processions.

Mary is looking for her son. Her dialog partner reports that he saw him on the Way of the Cross. Simple yet with great intensity and densely chromatic, Wolf-Ferrari impressively portrays the pain of the mother and her son. An exciting new discovery for Passion concerts.

The song is available in two versions by the composer: For SATBB choir (Carus 6.511/00) and for SAM choir and piano (Carus 6.511/50), both in print and digital versions.