Stainer ‘Crucifixion’

Stainer’s ‘Crucifixion’ bears the subtitle ‘a meditation on the sacred Passion of the Holy Redeemer’. It was composed in 1887 and was written for the choir of Marylebone Parish Church; it has been performed there annually ever since. The work aims to be within the scope of most parish church choirs and tells the story of Christ’s arrest and death in a series of solos and choruses interspersed with congregational hymns, in imitation of Bach’s St John Passion. The text is taken from the King James Bible and verses by W J Sparrow Simpson. Its modest simplicity and directness still impresses; and the work is a tender reflection on the Passion story.