Judas gets his say, thanks to Philharmonia Baroque
As music director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan regularly conducts works on biblical themes: In December, he’ll present Handel’s “Messiah” and “Joseph and His Brethren.”
This month, though, McGegan and his orchestra are focusing on a far more controversial figure: Judas Iscariot, the disciple whose very name is synonymous with betrayal.
“The Judas Passion,” by Scottish composer Sally Beamish and librettist David Harsent, makes its U.S. premiere Wednesday at Bing Hall on the Stanford campus. Conducted by McGegan, the performance repeats Oct. 6 in San Francisco and Oct. 7-8 in Berkeley.
o-commissioned by Philharmonia Baroque and London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which gave the work’s world premiere earlier this week under McGegan’s direction, this contemporary work for Baroque instruments presents Judas in a new light — one that focuses on forgiveness and redemption.
“It does take a slightly different look at the Gospel stories, making Judas something more than a cardboard villain,” McGegan said in a recent interview. “He may actually have had good motives to do bad things.”
The idea for “The Judas Passion” arose in a conversation between Berkeley-based McGegan and Beamish, who lives near the conductor’s second home in Glasgow.
“She’s a very good friend, and I’ve conducted her music before — I find it absolutely beautiful and very atmospheric,” McGegan explained. “We were talking a while back about what fun it would be to have a modern Passion, but with period instruments. She has risen to the challenge with this piece. It’s very dramatic, very exiting, a virtuoso piece in every way.”
Composed in eight sections, the hourlong score features the Philharmonia orchestra with tenor Brenden Gunnell as Judas, baritone Roderick Williams as Jesus and soprano Mary Bevan as Mary Magdalene; members of Bruce Lamott’s Philharmonia Chorale will sing the roles of Apostles. McGegan will open the program’s first half with Suite No. 1 from Telemann’s “Tafelmusik.”
“The Judas Passion” is part of Philharmonia’s “New Music for Old Instruments” initiative, which pairs contemporary composers with the orchestra’s early music players.
McGegan, of course, continues to explore the far reaches of the Baroque era: earlier this year, he led a thrilling revival of Rameau’s “The Temple of Glory” at Cal Performances.
But he’s committed to engaging living composers; the orchestra’s past premieres include Jake Heggie’s “To Hell and Back,” an opera that made its world premiere on a Philharmonia program in 2006 starring soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and Broadway legend Patti LuPone.
“New Music for Old Instruments,” he noted, is a win-win for composers intrigued by the distinct sounds of Baroque instruments, and for the orchestra’s players, who spend much of their careers playing 18th and early 19th century repertoire.
“Period instruments have their own sound world, and that’s very interesting for modern composers,” McGegan said. “They can learn a great deal about these instruments by talking with the musicians. And it does give the musicians a chance to stretch beyond their customary repertoire.”
McGegan is aware that some traditionalists won’t approve of “Judas.” “I’m not going into this with rosecolored glasses,” he said. “I’m quite sure that some people won’t like it. On the other hand, we’ll have a lot of people who will. There’s absolutely no reason why Philharmonia shouldn’t challenge its audiences the same way that the Symphony and the Opera challenge theirs. It’s part of what keeps us going as an arts organization, moving forward, not ossifying or turning into some form of museum.
“I think people are curious about this piece, and I hope their curiosity will be piqued. And I do hope they will be genuinely moved by it.”
As part of the “Judas Passion” premiere, Philharmonia is presenting a “PBO Sessions” panel titled “Female Composers and the Women Who Bring Their Music to Life.” McGegan will join participants including Beamish, Bevan and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. KQED’s Rachael Myrow and KDFC’s Dianne Nicolini are the moderators.
DETAILS>> “The Judas Passion,” Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University; 8 p.m. Oct. 6 at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; 8 p.m. Oct. 7 and 4 p.m. Oct. 8 at First Congregational Church, Berkeley; $15-$20; 415-392- 4400; www.philharmonia.org.