Richard Danielpour’s dramatic oratorio The Passion of Yeshua – a work which has evolved over the last 25 years – is an intensely personal telling of the final hours of Christ on Earth. It incorporates texts from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Gospels inspiring extraordinarily beautiful music that stresses the need for human compassion and forgiveness. Danielpour returns to the scale and majesty of Bach in this oratorio, creating choruses that are intense and powerful, and giving both Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene a central place in a work of glowing spirituality. Conductor JoAnn Falletta considers The Passion of Yeshua to be ‘a classic for all time.’

The Naxos label has released numerous recordings of works by Richard Danielpour, including a previous oratorio Toward a Season of Peace (8559772) that was highly regarded in Fanfare: ‘Every work I have ever heard by Danielpour has impressed me, and Toward a Season of Peace does so in spades. This is music of dark beauty, hushed mystery, sweeping gestures, deeply moving elegies and awesome climaxes that threaten to sweep you right out of the room.’

Conductor JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra have produced some of our most successful recordings in recent years. Respighi’s Roman Trilogy (8574013) released in February 2019 was much admired in the Gramophone magazine: ‘The mandolin serenade that closes “L’Ottobrata” in Feste romane is all amatory nostalgia, exquisitely done. Time suddenly stands still, meanwhile, when we reach the Catacombs in Pini, where the distant trumpet seems to hover eerily in the air and the penumbral strings suggest deep, reverential awe. The Gianicolo movement – slow and very sensuous indeed – is genuinely magical.’

The booklet notes for The Passion of Yeshua have been written by the composer, who considers the recording ‘an extraordinary testament to what musicians can do when they are brought together by a common vision.’

Cast:
- Miryam Magdala: Hila Plitmann (soprano)
- Narrator (Talmuda): Matthew Worth (baritone)
- Yeshua: Kenneth Overton (baritone)
- Miryam: J’Nai Bridges (mezzo-soprano)
- Kefa/Pilate: Timothy Fallon (tenor)
- Kayafa: James K Bass (baritone)