The Passion (2023)

The Passion is an originally-composed musical ritualization of Christ’s Passion based on scripture, tradition, and the lived experience of a collaborative process between students in the Notre Dame Folk Choir and professional artists.

The Passion comes out of the musical tradition of Passion settings and Passion plays more broadly. Christ’s Passion offers a framework for encountering suffering and injustice, teaching us how to respond with love and humility. This work embodies the Folk Choir’s commitment to the memorial of Christ’s Passion as a lived experience. We see our work as a daily invitation to deepen and enrich our memories through Jesus, and we hope, through this project, to do this together with you.

Overview

ACT I

1. Prologue

On Holy Saturday, the disciples hide in the Upper Room and turn to John for answers. Mary Magdalene invokes Memory to help recall the wonders and horrors of Jesus’ Passion

2. Bethany

Memory of the Anointing of Jesus at Bethany

3. Palm Sunday

Memory of Jesus’ joyous entry into Jerusalem

4. Footwashing

Memory of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and foretelling their betrayals

5. Last Supper

Memory of Jesus’ Institution of the Eucharist

6. Garden

The apostles try to make sense of Christ’s agony and arrest with their own memories of His glorious Transfiguration

ACT II

7. Peter

Peter confesses his denial of Jesus and recalls the first moment he was called to follow Jesus by the Sea of Galilee

8. Pilate

Mary offers insight to Jesus’ suffering and recalls the injustice Jesus endured in Pilate’s hands

9. Carrying the Cross

Memory of Jesus’ march to Calvary, including those he encounters on the road: Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and the Daughters of Jerusalem

10. Crucifixion

John, Mary Magdalene, and Mary relive Christ’s crucifixion

11. Epilogue

The disciples recount Jesus’ burial, and Heart draws them back to the table