It is an ancient custom that in Silent Week (the week before Easter) the Passion is quoted or sung, after the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Beginning in the fifteenth century, roles developed such that the "folk" portions were sung polyphonically (by a choir). The highlights of this development were, of course, Bach's St. John and St. Matthew passions. So much for this brief historiography,
… in which very many steps have been skipped. For example, there is the lesser-known passion variation by Adriaen Willaert. He composed a St. John Passion in which the Latin text is set as an integral choral piece. And in such a way that the (homophonically set) text remained readily intelligible from beginning to end. This intelligibility must have had something to do with the political entanglements surrounding the Council of Trent (1545-1563), during which the Roman Catholic Church determined its position vis-à-vis the Reformation. At that time, the Catholic Church insisted on the beauty of liturgical choral music. However, that choral music had to be functional and intelligible. (HJ)more
