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OSVALDO GOLIJOV’S LA PASIÓN SEGÚN SAN MARCOS:
A THEOLOGICAL COMMENTARY

By
Daniel J. Gee

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC THORNTON SCHOOL OF MUSIC
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS
(CHORAL MUSIC)

December 2020

Copyright 2020 Daniel J. Gee

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While this dissertation was written in the strictest isolation that only a global pandemic
could so effectively enforce, I am nonetheless grateful to have felt the support of many. I would
first like to thank my professors who served on my dissertation committee, as well as the faculty
of the USC Thornton Department of Choral and Sacred Music. I am grateful for the steady
presence and support of my committee chair, Dr. Tram Sparks, who gave thorough feedback
throughout the process. Along with his input on the dissertation, Dr. Cristian Grases should be
credited for cultivating my love for Latin American choral music. I am also grateful for his
efforts in connecting me with Osvaldo Golijov for an interview. Finally, a word of thanks to both
Dr. Nick Strimple and Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe for their integral roles in my growth as a
conductor while at USC.
Dr. Telford Work, my former professor of theology and final reader of my dissertation,
deserves special mention. Though he is now my colleague at Westmont College, I was delighted
to have one more chance to learn from him, at least officially! His range of insight, informed
both by his scholarship as well as his engagement with the global church, was indispensable for
this project.
I would like to thank Osvaldo Golijov for generously sharing his time for the interview.
His passion as a composer, yet with a humble spirit, was both a refreshment and inspiration.
I am grateful for the staff, faculty and students at Westmont College who continue to
provide a supportive and invigorating environment for both teaching and learning. I would like
to thank Mark Sargent, provost at Westmont College, for granting me a load reduction to aid in
the completion of this project. The indefatigable Michael Shasberger, Adams Chair of Music

iii
and Worship, continues to be a beloved mentor in my academic journey, and I was grateful for
him constantly spurring me on to finish the race.
The community at Evergreen Baptist Church of San Gabriel Valley, whose love ranges
from encouraging notes to cooked meals, and has persisted through the pandemic, will always
have a place in my heart. My deep affection will always be with those discipleship brothers who
kept me grounded throughout this entire journey. You know who you are.
I would not be where I am, nor who I am, without the unshakable love of my family. My
sister and brother, Jayne and Terry, and their families continue to enfold me even in these
difficult times. My mother and father, Rhonda and Anthony Gee, deserve gratitude beyond
words. They embody the love and humility of Christ and his Passion like no other.
My final acknowledgement will follow the example of the composer who inspired the
Passion 2000 project, and whose life, work and witness are all the greater, at least in my mind,
because he sought to point beyond himself. I gratefully and humbly join the many, that great
cloud of witnesses, who profess as he did: Soli Deo Gloria.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………..………ii
List of Tables………………………………………………………………………..…………….v
List of Examples………………………………………………………………………………….vi
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………..vii
Part I: Contexts
Introduction: Theology and La Pasión según San Marcos………………………………………1
Chapter 1: Historical and Theological Contexts…………………………………………………13
Historical Context: Latin American Catholic Christianity After Vatican II……………..13
Theological Response: Latin American Theologies of Liberation………………………21
Part II: Commentary
Chapter 2: Prologue and Anuncios (Nos. 1-6) …………………………………………………..28
Prologue (Nos. 1-2)………………………………………………………………………28
Anuncios (Nos. 3-6) ……………………………………………………………………..40
Chapter 3: Anointing and Betrayal (Nos. 7-13)………………………………………………….58
Chapter 4: Eucharist and Hymn (Nos. 14-15) …………………………………………………..76
Chapter 5: Gethsemane (Nos. 16-19)…………………………………………………………….85
Chapter 6: Arrest and Denial (Nos. 20-26)………………………………………………………97
Chapter 7: Trial, Crucifixion, Epilogue (Nos. 27-34)…………………………………………..111

Appendix A: Libretto…………………………………………………………………………...133
Appendix B: Osvaldo Golijov Interview Transcript (July 29, 2020)…………………………..144
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………........151

v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1: Commentaries on the Gospel of Mark consulted…………………………………….12
Table 3.1: The “Sandwich” Structure in Mark 14:1-11……………………………………….…59
Table 3.2 : Mark 14:10-21 including Golijov’s Additions………………………………………71
Table 4.1: Possible references from Hallel Psalms (113-118) in No. 15 “Demos Gracias”…….83
Table 7.1: Jesus’ Last Words in Mark, Luke, and John………………………………………...128

vi
LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example 2.1: Chorus parts in No. 6: “Dos Dias" (mm. 1-3) …………………………………....55
Example 3.1: Layering of strings and tres in No. 7: “Unción en Betanía” (mm. 1-4)…………...61
Example 3.2: Overlapping of Jesus and the Disciples in No. 8: “¿Por Qué?” (mm. 153-157).....63
Example 3.3: Exchange between violin and tres in No. 9: “Oración Lucumí” (mm. 14-17)…....67
Example 4.1: No. 6: “Eucaristía” (a) Head Motive, (b) Incomplete Line, and (c) final line with
added C…………………………………………………………………………………………..81
Example 5.1: Head motive in No. 19: “Agonía” (mm. 11-12) ………………………………….93
Example 5.2: Comparison in No. 19: “Agonía” of (a) mm. 20-21 and (b) mm. 146-147……….94
Example 6.1: No. 20: “Arresto” (mm. 25-30)…………………………………………….……100
Example 6.2: (013) rising line throughout La Pasión……………………………………….....109
Example 7.1: Antiphonal writing to portray surrounding crowds in No. 32: “Crucifixión” (mm.
9-12) ……………………………………………………………………………………………123
Example 7.2: Piano Dissonance in No. 30: “Comparsa al Gólgotha” (mm. 97-103)…………..124
Example 7.3: Hammer Strikes in Trumpets, Trombones, Piano in No. 32: “Crucifixión”
(mm. 5-6)…………………………………….…………………………………………………125
Example 7.4: Cry of Dereliction in No. 1 “Visión” (mm. 13-15) and No. 33: “Muerte”
(mm. 5-6) ………………………………………………………………………………………127

vii
ABSTRACT

This dissertation provides a theological commentary on the entirety of Osvaldo Golijov’s
La Pasión según San Marcos. While reception toward La Pasión has been largely positive, both
positive and negative reviews by critics and scholars alike reveal a lack of theological
knowledge, whether in the conclusions they draw, or in the largely unexamined presuppositions
that they hold. In particular, critics seem to be unaware of the unique cultural and theological
context of Latin American Christianity that undergirds much of Golijov’s work. The analysis in
this dissertation not only seeks to serve as a corrective to this, but also to demonstrate the
fruitfulness of including theological analysis of a musical work alongside other more traditional
forms of analysis.
Given the goal of connecting theological traditions and ideas to a piece of music, the
research for this dissertation was necessarily interdisciplinary. A significant portion surveys
several commentaries on the Gospel of Mark, with the purpose of giving the reader significant
understanding of the biblical text. While a project akin to the analytical work done by music
theorists is not the primary goal for this dissertation, some analysis is necessary in order to
sufficiently demonstrate the specific ways in which Golijov’s music resonates with the biblical
text. Finally, the dissertation attempts some connections with theological traditions and ideas
associated with the Latin American Church and theologians. As such, Golijov’s Passion is
proposed to be itself a work of contextual theology with the following primary purpose: to
embody, through the Markan account of Jesus’s death, the persistence of faith in the face of
suffering and injustice, as particularly exemplified by the lives of Latin American Christians. It
is fully acknowledged that this need not be the only reading of the work; there are good
arguments to be made for alternative readings. Nonetheless, the hope is for analyses like this one

viii
to become more common, leading to a more robust dialogue between theologians, musicologists
and performers as each seeks to better understand a musical work.

1
INTRODUCTION: THEOLOGY AND LA PASIÓN SEGÚN SAN MARCOS
Initial performances of Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos were met with
immediate critical acclaim, both at its Stuttgart premiere and abroad.
1
Critics in the United
States, it seems, were particularly enthused. Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed said of
his first hearing, “My first impression...was that modern musical history had just been made.”
2

Alex Ross of The New Yorker wrote that La Pasión had “a revolutionary air, as if musical history
were starting over, with new, sensuous materials in a new, affirmative tone.”
3
Such musical-
historical language was not uncommon in reviews of La Pasión. Most critics seemed to believe
that Golijov’s work, in light of the prominence of its performances and its largely positive
reception, signified a shift in Western Classical concert music, both geographically and in what
genres were to be included. In 2006, Jeremy Eichler of the New York Times wrote that “Mr.
Golijov...is one of the few composers today whose works are profoundly shifting the geography
of the classical music world, dumping the old Eurocentric map with its familiar capitals and
trading routes in the dustbin of history.”
4
Similarly, Ross wrote that La Pasión “drops like a
bomb on the belief that classical music is an exclusively European art.”
5
It seems that for most
critics the innovative, or perhaps even transgressive, nature of La Pasión was primarily musical

1
The world premiere of La Pasión según San Marcos was held on September 5, 2000 in Stuttgart, Germany,
commissioned by the International Bach Academy as part of the Passion 2000 project, commemorating the 250
th

anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death (1685-1750). The other commissions of the Passion 2000 project were
settings by Tan Dun, Wolfgang Rihm, and Sofia Gubaidulina.

2
Mark Swed, “Music Review: Osvaldo Golijov’s ‘St. Mark’ Passion finally reaches Los Angeles,” Los Angeles
Times, April 25, 2010.

3
Alex Ross, “RESURRECTION; The passion according to Osvaldo Golijov.” The New Yorker, March 5, 2001.

4
Jeremy Eichler, “Standing the Whole World on its Ear,” The New York Times, January 22, 2006.

5
Ross, “RESURRECTION.”

2
and cultural. For instance, Golijov’s employment of a wide range of Latin American genres, such
as Afro-Cuban drumming and samba, seemed to signal an acceptance of a wider range of genres
in “classical music.” Furthermore, the various cultures celebrated in the Passion 2000 project as
a whole represented a geographical shift; “classical music” was no longer exclusively
Eurocentric.
6

Given the subject matter, however, it is interesting to note that La Pasión has less often
garnered attention for its religious and theological implications, and when it has, the reception
has been largely negative.
7
Richard Taruskin’s critique of Golijov’s La Pasión, while in passing,
is a notable example in this regard. While his article is primarily a review of another work,
Messiaen’s opera Saint François d'Assise, Taruskin cites Golijov’s Pasión as a contrasting
example to the opera, one that in comparison merely rises to the level of marketable kitsch.
Golijov’s “panderfest,” Taruskin argues, is typical of contemporary audience taste that prefers a
vague, marketable, yet virtue-signaling spirituality over the theological substance of Messiaen’s
four-hour opera.
8

Michael Linton’s review, written in First Things, seems to be one of the few
theologically focused reviews published. In this regard, Linton’s review is wholly and
confidently dismissive. While he gives a mixed review toward Golijov’s use of instruments, the

6
The four composers selected for the Passion 2000 project were reportedly chosen for their diverse cultural and
musical backgrounds, and asked to retell the Passion narrative from their unique perspective. For instance, Rihm’s
German-language Deus Passus (based on St. Luke’s account) wrestles with the reality of the World War II
Holocaust. Gubaidulina’s Johannes-Passion, draws from the Russian Orthodox theological and musical tradition.
Robert Kirzinger, “Osvaldo Golijov: La Pasión según San Marcos.” Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Program,
Thursday A Series, Season 120 (2000-2001), Concert 4, February 8, 2001. 31.

7
Swed briefly notes that Golijov presents a “black Jesus” and that La Pasión “gave the impression of a triumphant
celebration of Christ’s promise for a better world” but not much more. Mark Swed, “Honoring Bach with New
Passions” Los Angeles Times. September 23, 2000.

8
Richard Taruskin, “Sacred Entertainments” Cambridge Opera Journal 2003. 15:2, 117.

3
brunt of Linton’s criticism focuses on the composer’s handling of the Gospel account. In
particular, Linton believes Golijov, unlike Bach, fails to illuminate various characters in the
Passion account, particularly Jesus. For instance, Golijov’s willingness to set Jesus’ words for
females voices not only makes him seem “weirdly androgynous,” but more fundamentally treats
Jesus as merely a type or symbol.
Mark’s story is not about revolutionary symbols or eccentric types, and Christians do not
name as creation’s Lord and Savior a “type” or a “symbol.” They name Jesus. The story
of Jesus’ death and resurrection illuminates to Christians both the depth of their own guilt
and the even more boundless expanses of God’s love. But this, perhaps understandably, is
a story that Golijov just doesn’t get. Instead, he tells but one more tale in the “bad things
happening to good people” genre, this one sauced up with carnival rhythms.
9

As such, in language similar to Taruskin’s critique, Linton writes that Golijov’s
“multicultural” and “politically correct reworking” of Mark’s text “has given the millennium’s
international Bobos just the kind of Passion they want: a no fault, no consequence, Good Friday
lite [sic] experience you can dance to.”
10

Of course, beyond the colorful name-calling and charged rhetoric is a host of theological
presuppositions, for which both authors make no acknowledgment, much less any justification.
In claiming that La Pasión is self-evidently revealed to be a theologically vacuous panderfest
when simply held in comparison to Messiaen’s St. Francis, Taruskin not only leans heavily on
the veracity of his perceptions, but also on the assumption that his readers will share them. What
is particularly notable is Taruskin’s curiously quantitative argument: compared to Messiaen’s
work, Golijov’s lacks theological substance. Nonetheless, one might wonder what indeed counts
as theological substance for Taruskin; indeed, it seems he assumes as much as he claims. It is

9
Michael Linton, “Passion Stomp,” First Things, December 2001,
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2001/12/passion-stomp.

10
Linton, “Passion Stomp.”

4
undeniably true that religion and spirituality can manifest in a variety of beliefs and practices.
What evidence does Taruskin offer that the spirituality of Saint François counts yet that of La
Pasión does not? If anything, it might be more accurate to say Taruskin seems to take more of
an issue with a particular form of religion than with Golijov’s work itself. Here, of course, lies
the problem: implied in Taruskin’s dismissal, a quantitative judgment, is a hidden qualitative
judgment, namely, that one practice of religion is more theologically valid than another, and for
this judgment, Taruskin fails to offer any evidence.
Linton’s critique perhaps fleshes out Taruskin’s personal theological intuitions but is still
largely held up by unsubstantiated assumptions. Theologians and religious laity alike have long
debated the significance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, with a wide range of conclusions,
implications and meanings. Linton gives no evidence, beyond mere assertion, for why
typological understandings of Jesus’ death are invalid, which by no means need be mutually
exclusive with “historical” understandings. There are valid arguments against typological
readings of Jesus, but it will not do to merely assume them without justification or
acknowledgement.
The self-confidence of the above critiques to make theological judgments without any
justification suggests a lack of knowledge of theological traditions and interpretations beyond the
author’s culturally limited experiences.
11
Herein lies the issue: a surface reading of sacred music
that is not theologically informed (which implies culturally informed) will likely significantly
miss the broader musical meaning of the work at hand.
12

11
Linton’s critique of Golijov’s use of samba for the march to the crucifixion also reveals the limits of one’s
cultural understanding, in this case regarding genre. (See. Ch. 9, Nos. 30-32)

12
For the inextricable connection between culture and theology, see Stephen B. Bevans, Models of Contextual
Theology, revised and expanded edition, (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2010), 1-15.

5
Interestingly, the most positive reviews of La Pasión are similarly problematic. Most
often, Golijov’s Passion has been celebrated as a genre-defying and epoch-defining statement of
multiculturalism. Eichler celebrates the “shifting” of the “geography of the classical music
world,” and later writes that “the pristine temple of art music has opened branch offices in places
like Argentina, Brazil, Jerusalem, and an imagined Eastern Europe. And they have been built
with porous walls.”
13
Swed writes, “This is a marvelous new voice for expressing the joy and
sorrow of a boisterous multicultural world, and it traverses ethnic walls as if they didn’t exist at
all.”
14
It should be noted how much these statements emphasize cross-cultural movement. It is
Golijov’s cosmopolitan, if not eclectic, inclusivity that is being celebrated. This is certainly a
legitimate reading of La Pasión, but the prevalence of a multicultural reading has the danger of
occluding any possibility of the work functioning as a localized statement of a particular culture.
Nonetheless, Golijov’s Passion, genre-defying as it is, functions best as such, not as a statement
of multiculturalism generally speaking, but as a much-needed expression of a cultural, and in this
case theological, tradition that has often been misunderstood as only a derivation of Euro-
American norms, if not simply ignored.
In her dissertation, “Millennial Passions,” Stephany Moore discusses what she calls the
“incorporation aesthetic,” common among turn of the century composers, including Golijov, who
professed a particular ethnic, racial, national or linguistic identity, and thus spoke of their music
as “incorporating” materials derived from this identity. Furthermore, because this incorporation
functions as self-representation, it thus seemingly avoids the charge of appropriation. “The

13
Jeremy Eichler, “Standing the Whole World on its Ear,” The New York Times, January 22, 2006. One wonders
why Golijov’s work represents a branch office (and hence still derivative to Western Classical music).

14
Mark Swed, “Honoring Bach with New Passions.”

6
incorporation aesthetic,” writes Moore, “was therefore predicated on dual musical identity: one
identity associated with the culture of origin or identification, and another associated with the
culture of classical music — presumably unmarked.”
15
Yet, the typical flow of inclusion has
typically been non-Western influences being incorporated into a Western tradition and
framework. Thus, works that feature the incorporation aesthetic, which more often than not are
read as affirmations of multiculturalism, still assume a Western cultural framework as the
referential center.
While Moore writes that much of Golijov’s music before La Pasión featured this
incorporation aesthetic, she writes that La Pasión turns the incorporation aesthetic on its head,
instead incorporating Western elements into a fundamentally non-Western texture.
...what Golijov brought to the stage was not the usual incorporative kind of piece, in
which, again, the incorporation is that of non-Western music into fundamentally Western
classical works. In Pasión, Golijov does precisely the opposite, not, for example, asking
its string players to incorporate samba rhythms. Indeed, Golijov found early in the
process of writing Pasión that even orchestral percussionists and their instruments were
not adequate to that task. Instead, when a samba does appear, at the moment of the
Crucifixion, it is played by a self-sufficient samba ensemble of surdos, ago-go, tamborim,
etc. Afro-Cuban and Brazilian instruments and forms are the foundation of the piece,
only supplemented by a Western-style string section. What this means is that, for long
sections of the work, it is Western music that gets incorporated into non-Western music,
and not the other way around.
16

Because “multiculturalism” so often assumes a Western framework, describing La
Pasión merely as such actually robs it of much of its genre-defying potential. The distinct local

15
Stephany Andrea Moore, “Millennial Passions: New Music and the Ends of History, 1989-2001,” PhD. diss.,
(University of California, Los Angeles, 2016), 89.

16
Moore, “Millennial Passions: New Music and the Ends of History, 1989-2001,” 116-117. In relation to this point,
Linton’s description of Golijov’s ensemble could not be more revealing of a doggedly Eurocentric framework, in
which, no matter how prominently non-Western instruments are used, they are still evaluated from a Western
framework. “Reducing his orchestra to paired trumpets and trombones with strings (without violas), Golijov then
augments this ensemble with a large Latin American percussion battery, piano, guitar, and accordion.” Linton later
acknowledges that “it is Golijov’s percussion that provides most of the musical propulsion,” though this overuse,
nonetheless, became merely a “mind-numbing racket.” Linton, “Passion Stomp.”

7
traditions and identities celebrated in La Pasión need to be understood in their own right, and not
simply collapsed into just another example of multiculturalism.
17

As such, there is clearly a need for greater understanding for the traditions at play in
Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos. This dissertation proposes that alongside various more
common analyses of a given work, including understanding historical, sociocultural, and
biographical background, theological analysis is also essential, particularly for works that we
categorize, however loosely, as “sacred music.” Such an analysis, with particular awareness of
the distinct, local theological traditions that are operative in the work, will shed fresh light on the
meaning of the work, and perhaps provide a corrective to some assumptions that critics have
brought to bear in reviewing the work, however unknowingly.
18

The fruitful results of a theological method applied to the music of J.S. Bach (1685-
1750) can be seen in the work of musicologists such as Eric Chafe, Daniel Melamed, and
Michael Marissen as well as that of theologians such as Jaroslav Pelikan and Andreas Loewe.
19

17
Of course, it should be acknowledged, as Golijov likely would, that to describe a work as “Latin American”
simpliciter is to also risk collapsing local identities into a multicultural whole. Whether Golijov’s work can be
faulted as such is a separate question; insofar, however, as Golijov wishes La Pasión to reflect Latin America as a
particular cultural, musical, and religious landscape, the celebration of “multiculturalism” will be missing the mark.

18
While theology is generally understood as a particular field in academic religious studies, distinct from, for
instance, biblical studies in the Christian tradition, the term “theological” is used here in a broader, perhaps more
colloquial, sense, including insights from a wide range of disciplines in religious studies including biblical studies,
church history, missiology, and theology proper. As such, “theological analysis” as used here is more in contrast to
forms of analysis typically found in a music department, such as “historical analysis” (an aspect generally associated
with musicology), “harmonic analysis” (generally associated with music theory), and the like. It is true that some
scholars working under the auspices of a music department, generally identifying as musicologists, have done
theological analysis similar to what is being done here, particularly relating to works by J.S. Bach (e.g. Eric Chafe,
Daniel Melamed, and Michael Marissen). It should be quickly noted, however, that the term “theological” is also
being used in a more narrow sense than “theology proper,” in that it assumes the qualifier: “Christian theology.”

19
See, for example, Eric Chafe, J.S. Bach’s Johannine Theology: The St. John Passion and the Cantatas for Spring
1725. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014); Daniel R. Melamed, Hearing Bach’s Passions. (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2005); and Michael Marissen, Bach & God. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).

8
Both theologians and musicologists have ventured into one another’s fields and given us a deeper
understanding of the totality of Bach’s music.
But why Bach, in particular? There is a general perception among many that Bach’s
music is unique in its theological depth, likely due, at least in part, to his own lifelong
engagement with Lutheran Christianity as a church musician. Bach’s profound skill in
intentionally incorporating theological themes and messages into his music is certainly
exceptional, and perhaps even without peer in the Western Classical tradition. Of course, this
does not mean that the works of other composers do not contain theological meaning.
Furthermore, it seems clear a work can even contain theological meaning even when the
composer was not intentionally seeking to make a “theological” point.
20

The case of La Pasión is somewhat unusual, however, in that the composer does not
identify as a Christian. Furthermore, it seems that Golijov’s primary purpose was not to make a
“theological” statement, at least in the traditional sense.
21
And yet, as will hopefully become
clear, La Pasión nonetheless makes significant theological statements, many of which resonate
with both broader theological traditions, such as liberation theology, as well as insights from
noted biblical scholars.
22
It is clear that not every resonance mentioned was intended by the

20
David Gouwens’ article “Mozart Among the Theologians,” surveys how Kierkegaard, Karl Barth, and Hans Küng
found theological meaning in the work of Mozart, meaning which does not seem to depend on whether Mozart
intentionally meant to communicate as such. David J. Gouwens, “Mozart among the Theologians.” Modern
Theology. 16:4. 2000.

21
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020. In fact, in his interview with David Harrington,
Golijov seems to have not been very familiar with Mark’s Gospel account, and read it, perhaps for the first time, in
preparation for the work. David Harrington, “An Interview with Osvaldo Golijov,” Boston Symphony Orchestra
Concert Program, 35.

22
Consider Golijov connecting musically the Gethsemane scene with Jesus’ apocalyptic discourse in Mark 13, an
insight, that is likely not apparent to the average reader, but pointed out by noted Mark scholar Joel Marcus. Joel
Marcus, Mark:A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press,
2002, 2009), 976.

9
composer. Furthermore, there are some moments of inconsistency in La Pasión that should
temper any attempt, including this present one, to confidently propose the one and only unified
message of the work. Nonetheless, just as art seeks to find various meanings in the
inconsistencies of life, so our various analyses might highlight different emphases of a work that
are nonetheless fruitful toward a greater understanding.
The purpose of this dissertation, then, is to attempt to give one theologically informed
reading of Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos. It is not expected for the reader to agree with
every interpretation; in fact, generating substantiated theological discussion is the greater goal of
this project than for everything proposed here to be accepted uncritically. Nonetheless, it seems
clear to this author that there is a primary theological purpose operative throughout the entire
Passion, and that is to embody the persistence of faith in the face of suffering and injustice, as
particularly exemplified by the lives of Latin American Christians.
As such, La Pasión could be seen as an embodiment of contextual theology. Theologian
Stephen Bevans claims that contextual theology, “the attempt to understand Christian faith in
terms of a particular context,” must be considered a theological imperative, not only because any
theological discourse will necessarily assume a particular cultural framework, but also because
insofar as theology is meant to derive from God’s self-revelation to humanity, so theological
discourse necessarily “mediates between a cultural matrix and the significance and role of
religion in that matrix.”
23
Thus, while some might find the foregrounding of “cultural context”
in Golijov’s Passion to be unique, insofar as it is a theological statement, La Pasión simply
makes explicit what is true in all theological discourse. Just as Bach’s Passions cannot be fully

23
Stephen B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology.

10
understood except in the context of eighteenth-century German Lutheranism, so Golijov’s
Passion should necessarily be seen in relation to Latin American Christianity.
But there is a more practical reason to understand the theological context of La Pasión.
Most Western audiences simply are not familiar with Latin American culture and history, much
less theology. This perhaps explains why critics so quickly defaulted to a multicultural reading;
if the specifics of the particular culture and theological tradition are vague at best, then there
would be no other option than to subsume instances of Latin American culture into examples of
multiculturalism generally, which is to say, into culture that is merely other, even if purportedly
welcome. At worst, as has been shown, lack of understanding of the Latin American context will
lead to critiques that not only blatantly miss the point, but also reveal the Eurocentrism that has
plagued the “Classical Music” tradition for centuries. This is not to say that each of the critics
above should have been experts in Latin American culture, history, theology, etc. Rather, it is
about being aware of what one knows and what one does not know. It is the assumption that one
fully grasps the full context surrounding a work, as is demonstrated in some of the
aforementioned reviews, that is the problem. This dissertation does not claim expertise in all
areas of the Latin American context that informs La Pasión. Rather, it seeks to model the
fruitfulness of an approach that, at the very least, attempts to give context its due importance.
24

As such, before the commentary proper, this dissertation will first give a cursory
overview of Latin American (primarily Catholic) Christianity, post-Vatican II, the time period
that would have likely been most influential on Golijov and the portrait of Christianity that he
sought to create. In particular, the Liberation Theology tradition, while by no means the only
theological tradition influential in Latin America, will be highlighted, particularly in areas that

24
Indeed, one critique of the association made here of La Pasión with Latin American Christianity through
liberation theology is that liberation theology itself does not adequately represent Latin American Christianity.

11
resonate with Golijov’s theological themes. The commentary itself will avoid a blow-by-blow
approach; rather the goal will be to provide insight into the biblical text by engaging
commentaries by a range of biblical scholars (see Figure 1.1), followed by ways in which
Golijov’s musical material resonates with the biblical account. In particular instances, historical
resonances with the Latin American Christian context will be discussed. Each commentary
chapter will begin with some introductory remarks about the larger section at hand, followed by
specific comments about each movement.
All Biblical references are from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise
stated. However, a word on biblical text found in Golijov’s libretto, both Spanish and English, is
necessary. Golijov shares that his Spanish libretto is a conglomeration of several Spanish
translations, ranging from common “on the street” paraphrases to more standard academic
translations.
25
As it is not published exactly which portions came from which translations, and
furthermore noting that there are sections where Golijov’s account differs radically from
standard Spanish translations, it will suffice to say that it seems Golijov sought to retain what he
believed to be the basic story of Mark’s account, while adapting certain details and chronology
for his artistic purposes.
26
The English translation included in the libretto does not appear to be
primarily a direct translation of the Spanish; rather, the majority of it seems straight from the
King James Version, with the exception of sections where the libretto departs from standard
Spanish translation. As such, the English text should not be understood as a translation, per se;

25
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020. For a survey of Spanish Bible translations, see Joel
Cruz’s Handbook. Joel M. Cruz, The Histories of the Latin American Church: A Handbook, (Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2014.)

26
An example of when Golijov’s libretto differs radically from the Biblical account is in No. 11/12: “Judas & El
Cordero Pascual”, when Golijov adds the narrative detail of Judas returning from his meeting with the high priests,
preparing the supper and eating at table with the disciples, details that are implied by the actual Biblical account but
not explicitly stated.

12
the reader would be best advised to study the Spanish text directly to understand the nuances of
Golijov’s libretto.
While there are scores of scholarly commentaries on the Gospel of Mark, the
commentaries included are by authors from a range of traditions and demographics (Table 1.1).
Table 1.1: Commentaries on the Gospel of Mark consulted
Pedro Agustín Arana Quiroz, “Marcos,” Comentario Bíblico Contemporáneo, 2019.
Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, 2 volumes, 1994.
David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV Application Commentary, 1996.
Robert Gundry, Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross, 1993.
Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According To St. Mark, Black's New Testament
Commentaries, 2001.
William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark, The New International Commentary
on the New Testament, 1974.
Joel Marcus, Mark :A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, 2 volumes,
Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 2009.
Adela Yarbro Collins, Mark: A Commentary, Hermeneia, 2007.

While this is less the case with the church histories and theological writings consulted,
the author does acknowledge the fact that all but one of the Mark commentaries consulted are in
English and written by North American biblical scholars. While this theological commentary
seeks to be informed about Latin American theological context, it does not claim to be written
from a Latin American theological perspective. This is not to say this particular perspective
would not be helpful; quite the contrary, actually. Nonetheless, the commentary is written in full
acknowledgment of the limits of the author's cultural and theological perspectives, in hopes that
others will be encouraged to come from different, equally needed, angles.

13
CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL CONTEXTS
Events in the second half of the twentieth century would significantly influence Latin
American Christianity as we know it today, and the vision of Christianity presented by Golijov’s
Passion is inextricably linked with, and referential to, these consequential decades. Furthermore,
it would be post-Vatican II Christianity that would have surrounded Golijov in his formative
years, significantly influencing his understanding and experiences of Christians and their diverse
practices. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and its resulting theology and practices in
Latin America, however, are also necessarily connected with the region’s political and social
upheaval, beginning in the 1960s and continuing for several decades. These two factors, in
particular, would result in the unique theological perspectives and practices of Latin American
Christianity at the century’s end that would, in turn, influence Christianity around the world.

Historical Context: Latin American Catholic Christianity After Vatican II
The Second Vatican Council was the largest church council in history, gathering over
three thousand participants from across the globe.
27
Convened by Pope John XXIII, the council
met over several periods from 1962-1965. While previous councils had generally been called in
response to a particular heresy or threat, Pope John himself stated that the purpose of the council
was an aggiornamento, an updating of the church in response to what many felt was an
increasing sense of alienation from the world.
28
As a result the initiatives of Vatican II marked a
significant shift in how the Catholic Church saw itself in relation to the world, particularly to

27
Jonathan Hill, Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity (Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2006), 434.

28
Justo González and Ondina E. González, Christianity in Latin America: A History. (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2008), reprinted 2012. 241.

14
other denominations and religions, as well as its practices in relation to the wide range of
cultures in which the Church found itself. While sixteen documents on a range of topics were
officially published, many historians highlight in particular the council’s decree for churches
around the world to celebrate the Mass in the vernacular language of its local people groups.
Cruz notes that this resulted in the “loosening of the centripetal force tying the global church to
Rome” along with “the mandate to root the mission of the church within national and local
contexts and needs.”
29

Particularly cogent for the Latin American context, however, was the council’s
recognition of the suffering and injustice in the world. This emphasis is captured well in the
opening words of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (generally
known as Gaudium et spes).
The joy and hope, the grief and anguish, of people today, particularly of those who are
poor or in some way afflicted, are also the joy and hope, as well as the grief and anguish
of those who follow Christ. Nothing truly human is foreign to their hearts, for their
community is composed of people — people who, joined in Christ and guided by the
Holy Spirit, march towards the Kingdom of God the Father and carry a message of
salvation for all.
30

Gustavo Gutiérrez notes that while Gaudium et spes at times remained at an ineffectual
level of abstraction, it nonetheless was helpful in beginning to break down the long held
separation between the spiritual and earthly missions of the Church, a separation that he argues
contributed to the Church’s lack of engagement with the world’s poverty, suffering and
injustice.
31
For Gutiérrez, Vatican II embodied a significant turning point in the Church’s
commitment to acknowledge and stand with the poor and suffering of the world.

29
Joel M. Cruz, The Histories of the Latin American Church: A Handbook, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014) 34.

30
González and González, 242.

31
Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation, (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1973), 46, 58.

15
Concurrent with Vatican II, large numbers of priests in Latin America began to also
question traditional explanations for poverty and inequity in the region. A dominant explanation
for poverty in the region, dubbed by critics as desarrollismo (developmentalism), held that
poverty was largely due to underdevelopment, and thus the answer was to encourage
development, mostly through foreign investment.
32
Conversely, these priests began to believe
that poverty was not caused by underdevelopment, but by neocolonial dependency.
Desarrollismo was thus seen not only as a misconception of the problem, but even also as an
attempt to keep the poor subservient.
33
This critique, along with the large shifts in perspective at
Vatican II, would lead to the establishment of the Latin American Bishops’ Council (CELAM),
and eventually the formation of a theology of liberation.
The political upheaval beginning in the 1960s saw the rise of both leftist, socialist
governments (the Soviet-backed Cuban Revolution in the 1950s being a model others sought to
follow) as well as right-wing military dictatorships, many of which were supported in some form
by the United States. In Chile, the Socialist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by
Augusto Pinochet and the military junta in 1973, while conversely in Nicaragua, the Sandinista
Revolution saw the end of the authoritarian Somoza regime in 1978. Nonetheless, most left-wing
revolutionary governments that gained power in the 1960s fell to the “national security”
governments in the 1970s, resulting in authoritarian dictatorships holding power in most of the
region. González is quick to add, however, that, on the ground, this meant death, torture, and

32
González and González, 244.

33
González and González, 244.

16
tragedy for thousands of Latin Americans, including civilians targeted and made to
“disappear.”
34

From the moment of its arrival in Latin America, González writes of the “two faces” of
Christianity in Latin America.
...almost from its very outset, the church in Latin America had two faces. The dominant
face was the one that justified what was being done in the name of evangelization. In the
chapters that follow, we will see frequent examples of unleashed greed, wanton
destruction, and outright exploitation –all of them justified by ecclesiastical authorities.
Conversely, we will also encounter those who protested against injustice – and
particularly against injustice in the name of Christianity...as we will see, these two faces
of Christianity in Latin America have persisted through the centuries.
35

The Valladolid debate between Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas, in
which the former sought to justify European conquest and war and the latter advocated for the
rights of the indigenous peoples, is well known and demonstrates the Church wrestling between
these two viewpoints.
36
In the latter half of the twentieth century, the conflicting two faces
manifested in the Church’s uneasy relationship with the military dictatorships coming into
power. On one hand, many in the church held to what many have called the “New Christendom”
model, in which the church through the twentieth century sought to retain its religious and
cultural hegemony by allying with political regimes. In an era of anticommunist sentiment, as
well as in fear of atheistic revolutions associated with socialism, many in the Catholic Church
made peace with authoritarian dictatorships such as those of Vargas (Brazil), Stroessner

34
González and González, 260. It is reported that in Argentina’s Dirty War from 1976-1983, thousands of its
citizens were killed, many of them “disappeared” — seized by the authorities and never heard from again.

35
González and González, 4.

36
While the direct results of the debate are unclear, Cruz notes that the event was not perceived as mere formality or
inconsequential when he writes, “In an act unparalleled in European history, Charles I called to a halt the conquest
of the Americas until the justice of Spain’s military expansion could be further investigated.” Cruz, 56.

17
(Paraguay) and Somoza (Nicaragua).
37
The result, however, was an implicit, if not outright,
approval of some of the governments’ worst injustices. Prien highlights the notable silence and
complicity of Argentina’s episcopate during the country’s Dirty War from 1976-1983.
38
Cruz
adds the example of Archbishop Mario Casariego in Guatemala who “was supportive of military
rule and dismissed reports of human rights abuses and murdered priests, even as he blessed the
army’s tanks with holy water.”
39

Conversely, in response to these injustices, as well as the theological developments of
Vatican II and CELAM, other national churches began to seek an alternative way to the “New
Christendom” model. In what was eventually called the “church of the people” (iglesia popular)
model, Christians began to, in the words of Argentine priest and scholar Enrique Dussel,
“‘abandon the illusion that one can use the state to complete the process of evangelization’” and
instead “turn the church into an ally of the oppressed classes.’”
40
Dussel continues that:
Because of this, the church can expect no help from the state in fulfilling its pastoral
duties, making it necessary to create new institutions, such as basic church communities,
but also giving up any attempt on the part of the church to legitimate the oppressive
structures of the state. This rupture of legitimation provides the church with a new
freedom to gain credibility among the oppressed. This new model, according to which
prophetic groups already live, and which certain bishoprics having even preponderantly
adopted, has been given the name Iglesia popular (“church of the people”). It is not a
different church. It is not a new church. It is simply another model of the church that has
always existed.
41

37
Cruz, 32.

38
Hans-Jürgen Prien, Christianity in Latin America, Revised and Expanded Edition, Religion in the Americas,
(Leiden: Brill, 2012), 443. See also Cruz, 36.

39
Cruz, 37.

40
Cited in Prien, 454.

41
Cited in Prien, 453-454.

18
At this point, not only friars, nuns and laypeople began to speak and act out against
government oppression, but priests and bishops as well. Cruz writes that, in stark contrast to
fellow Christians who were at the same time justifying authoritarian oppression, “for many who
suffered or whose family members had been taken in the night, the church became the only place
that would listen to their pleas, recording their testimonies and, when possible, providing
information, news, asylum, legal aid, and other resources to those in need.”
42

This stand with the oppressed cost many their lives. González particularly highlights the
life of Archbishop Oscar A. Romero of San Salvador.
43
At first supportive of the status quo,
even arguing for peace at all costs over the demands of the “subversives,” Romero was shocked
when the National Guard raided Tres Calles, a village in his diocese, going from house to house,
supposedly looking for concealed weapons, all while pulling out civilians and murdering them.
Over time, Romero dedicated his life to preaching human rights and protesting injustice. When
named archbishop of San Salvador, Romero took up residence in a hospital for indigents instead
of living in the bishop’s palace. He ordered priests in his diocese to offer sanctuary to anyone
who was fleeing the military’s death squads. Romero was eventually shot and killed while
preaching at a funeral mass, whose theme was Jesus’ words, “Whoever would save his life will
lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
The Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (Latin American Bishops’ Council, henceforth
CELAM) was first convened in 1966. Initially encouraged by Rome, CELAM was to allow
bishops in Latin America to address local matters of the church, particularly the lack of priests

42
Cruz, 36.

43
González and González, 261-263.

19
and the spread of Protestantism.
44
While the first council of 1966 did not choose to focus on
social issues, it would be the second council of 1968, initially gathering in Bogotá, but primarily
at Medellín, that would begin to change the focus of many in the Latin American church.
The beginnings of the second council in Bogotá were relatively conservative. Pope Paul
VI’s visit to open the sessions was momentous as the first time a pope visited Latin America, but
his statements disappointed reformists who had hoped he would more directly address the
region’s issues of poverty and injustice, as well as the church’s complicity with authoritarian
governments.
45
After he left, however, the conference moved to Medellín, where the bishops’
discussion extended beyond internal matters of the church to its relation to the surrounding
poverty and structural injustice.
Reception of the sixteen documents of Medellín was mixed. Some reformists thought
that Medellín’s language did not go far enough. Gustavo Gutiérrez described the documents of
Medellín as a “muffled voice” with the possibility of being “easily neutralized” by those in
power, all while still being “a first attempt at speaking out.”
46
Others thought that while the
bishops were ready to pronounce judgment on the evils of society, they were less willing to
acknowledge injustice in the church itself.
47
Nonetheless, many seem to agree that Medellín
remained a crucial, even if small, step forward. González writes that “...while not committing
the church to revolutionary processes — and even while discouraging them for fear of chaos and
violence — Medellín also opened the door for a more radical understanding of the mission of the

44
González and González, 245.

45
González and González, 247.

46
Gutiérrez, 107.

47
González and González, 248.

20
church in society and of its role in promoting structural, political, economic, and social
change.”
48
Prien adds that “Medellín represented a transitional phase between the technocratic
philosophy of developmentalism (desarrollismo) and the theology of liberation.”
49

An additional development worth mentioning was the encouragement of the council to
establish small basic communities. Known as comunidades eclesiales de base (Base Ecclesial
communities, henceforth CEBs), these small grassroots communities had been in existence well
before Vatican II and Medellín.
50
Distinct from churches, CEBs were lay gatherings to study the
Bible, pray and discuss social conditions and the Christian life. While there was a wide range of
practices, their general method has been described as “ver, juzgar, y actuar” (to see, to judge,
and to act). In this method, we see a direct connection between Christian belief and Christian
praxis, particularly in relation to one’s societal context. Christians would first seek “to see” the
issues of injustice and grief surrounding them. Subsequently, they would seek to look past
common explanations and instead “to judge” what the underlying causes were, often pointing to
structural injustice. Finally, participants would seek “to act.” It was not enough to understand a
problem; rather Christians must take action in response. González notes that this was a circular,
mutually informing process, “for in judging and acting the community comes to see things in a
different way. This new seeing leads to further judging and acting, and so on.”
51

The CEBs’ study of the Bible was integral to their process, which resonated with the
mandate of Vatican II for Catholics to renew their study of the Word. As a result of this

48
González and González, 249.

49
Prien, 455.

50
González notes their early development in Brazil due to lack of priests. González and González, 250.

51
González and González, 252.

21
mandate, several new and readable translations of the Bible were produced, further encouraging
the spread of these lay communities. Prien particularly notes these groups’ remarkable spread in
Brazil, where there were at times more than 100,000 such fellowships.
52
As a result, Prien argues
that not only did CEBs put more Bibles into the hands of church members to an unprecedented
level, it also represented a uniquely Latin American model of Christianity, as opposed to
practices imported from European missionaries.
53

Theological Response: Latin American Theologies of Liberation
The concerns of many Latin American Christians, typified by those expressed at
Medellín and coupled with the practices of the CEBs, found their ideological expression in what
came to be known as liberation theology, a theological tradition that is generally understood to
be originally and uniquely Latin American even as it has become influential for many Christians
and many theological traditions across the globe. Nonetheless, proponents of liberation theology
would likely qualify this assessment, noting not only the wide diversity of thought and
perspectives that gather under the title “theologies of liberation,” but more importantly, the
emphasis on praxis over ideology. Gustavo Gutiérrez is one of the earliest to express in writing
that liberation theology “offers us not so much a new theme for reflection as a new way to do
theology.”
54
More recently, J.E. Stam writes that, “while certain core concepts may be identified,
[liberation theology] is perhaps better understood not as a system of beliefs but as a new way of

52
Prien, 476.

53
Prien, 476.

54
Gutiérrez, 15.

22
doing theology that is grounded in the life of Christian discipleship in solidarity with the poor.”
55

As such, more than citing representative writings or proponents, liberation theology is generally
described using a handful of hermeneutical lenses through which the Latin American experience
and the Christian life, including but not limited to interpretation of the Bible and theological
discourse, are synthesized into lived out practice.
56

The “ver, juzgar, actuar” (look, act, judge) process of the CEBs serves as a good
framework to understand the hermeneutical lens of liberation Theology. First, proponents
understand theology as necessarily contextual. Theological understanding and discourse are not
done in an abstract vacuum; rather, it is necessarily understood in relation to its sociological,
political, and historical context. Gutiérrez argues that the goal of theology, as discourse about
God and the Christian life, is the meaningful communication of the faith, and thus it must enter
into dialogue with its cultural context in order to be understood. Thus, the “ecclesial location,”
writes Gutiérrez, gives theology its raison d’etre.
57
What, then, is the ecclesial location of the
Latin American church? According to Gutiérrez, the defining characteristics of the Latin
American population is that of being both poor and believing. The Latin American experience,
then, could be broadly described as living out faith in the midst of poverty. These twin
characteristics will necessarily leave their mark, one on the other, and “to live out and think
through Christian faith cannot therefore be accomplished apart from an awareness of the

55
J. E. Stam, and R. S. Goizueta, “Liberation theology,” Global Dictionary of Theology, Edited by W. A. Dyrness,
& V. Kärkkäinen, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 486-492.

56
Nonetheless, this brief description of liberation theology admittedly borrows much from the writings of Gutiérrez,
whom many regard as the “Father of Liberation Theology.” See Prien for a differing view on who started liberation
Theology. Prien, 502.

57
Gustavo Gutiérrez and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, On the Side of the Poor: A Theology of Liberation,
(Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2015), 1-2.

23
situation of exploitation and marginalization in which such persons find themselves.”
58
What
results for Latin American Christians, then, is a unique spiritual journey, with specific
applications and fulfillments of Biblical truth and Christian social teaching.
However, we must add that cultural context should not be understood to be a neutral,
much less benign, influence upon the Christian life. Rather, Gutiérrez famously argued that
theology should be seen as “critical reflection on praxis.”
59
After one “sees” one must “judge,”
looking to understand the true reality of one’s context, including injustice and its causes.
Comparing this function with the role of the prophets in the Bible, Gutiérrez sees theology as a
gateway for humanity to reflect critically both on itself and on society, all in light of the Word of
God. Thus theology “does not produce pastoral activity; rather it reflects upon it.” Theology
follows praxis. Moreover, in order to adequately and fully reflect on its ecclesial location, the
Church must go beyond its traditional sources of knowledge, particularly the Bible and Church
teaching. Citing Yves Congar, “‘instead of using only revelation and tradition as starting points,
as classical theology has generally done, it must start with facts and questions derived from the
world and from history.’ Gutiérrez adds that “it is precisely this opening to the totality of human
history that allows theology to fulfill its critical function vis-a-vis ecclesial praxis without
narrowness.”
60,61

58
Gutiérrez and Müller, 39.

59
While Gutierrez’s seminal work Teología de la liberación was published in 1971, Leonardo and Clodovis Boff
cite Gutierrez describing theology as critical reflection on praxis as early as 1964. Leonardo Boff and Clodovis Boff,
Introducing Liberation Theology, Paul Burns trans., (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1987), 69.

60
Gutiérrez, 12.

61
Stam notes that for liberation theology, “philosophy, the major ally of theology ever since the Apologists and the
school of Alexandria, takes second place to history, sociology and political science as the major aids to the
theological task.” Stam and Goizueta, “Liberation theology.”

24
While these statements have caused concern that liberation theology devalues Scripture
and Tradition, making them equal or even subservient to sociology and historical perspectives,
Jesuit Juan Luis Segundo sought to clarify this relationship with what he called the
“hermeneutical circle.” While the subject of theology, Segundo insists, continues to be Scripture
and doctrine, the hermeneutical task of interpretation is not a simple one-way relationship.
Rather it is a circular one, with continuous movement between Biblical text and contemporary
context. Segundo writes:
Firstly, there is our way of experiencing reality, which leads us to ideological
suspicion. Secondly there is the application of our ideological suspicion to the
whole ideological superstructure and to theology in particular. Thirdly there
comes a new way of experiencing theological reality that leads us to exegetical
suspicion, that is, to the suspicions that the prevailing interpretation of the
Bible has not taken important pieces of data into account. Fourthly we have
our new hermeneutic, that is, our new way of interpreting the fountainhead
of our faith (i.e., Scripture) with the new elements at our disposal.
62

In examining the interaction between Biblical text and cultural context in Segundo’s
circle, González notes a clear Marxian influence: certain “ideologies” are used to control society
and justify those in power, and theological critical reflection gives us a new understanding of
them, inspiring us not only to action in response, but also further reflection and reinterpretation.
63

This admittedly remains substantially different from a traditional understanding of Scripture and
Tradition, and their relationship to society and history; nonetheless, it demonstrates the unique
methodological perspectives of “liberationist” theologians and their wrestling to understand the
Church’s traditional sources of knowledge within the full scope of their human, local experience.

62
Juan Luis Segundo, The Liberation of Theology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1976), 9. Cited in González and
González, 257.

63
González and González, 257.

25
An additional hermeneutical principle for these theologians was God’s “preferential
option for the poor,” a phrase used at the CELAM conference in Puebla (1979) and now widely
used across different denominations. This perspective sees God’s particular concern for the
poor, oppressed, and vulnerable as a primary theme in Scripture, arguing that these concerns
should, in turn, be at the forefront of the Church’s social practices.
64
Thus, God’s salvific
purposes are claimed to include, if not primarily consist of, the liberation of the oppressed.
Gutiérrez writes that there is need for a redefinition of what it means to be a Christian, as well as
an expansion of what it means to be saved. For Gutiérrez, God’s creation, liberation and
salvation are inextricably linked together. Citing Isaiah 43:1 and 53:9-10, he connects the
liberating God of Exodus to the creating God of Genesis.
65
In turn, the work of Christ is
considered the complete fulfillment of the creating, saving, and liberating action of God.
66

Additionally, humans are saved so that they too may be brought into and participate in the
liberating work of God.
Consequently, when we assert that man fulfills himself by continuing the work of
creation by means of his labor, we are saying that he places himself, by this very fact,
within an all-embracing salvific process. To work, to transform this world, is to become a
man and to build the human community; it is also to save...it is to become part of a saving
process which embraces the whole of man and all human history.
67

64
Stam includes Exodus 3:7-8, Proverbs 17:5; 22:22-23; and 23:10-11 all as representative texts supporting this
perspective. Stam and Goizueta, “Liberation theology.”

65
“Creation and liberation from Egypt are but one salvific act. It is significant, furthermore, that the technical term
bara, designating the original creation, was used for the first time by Second Isaiah (43:1, 15; cf. Deut. 32:6) to refer
to the creation of Israel. Yahweh’s historical actions on behalf of his people are considered creative (41:20, 43:7,
45:8, 48:7). The God who frees Israel is the Creator of the world.” Gutiérrez, 155.

66
Gutiérrez, 159.

67
Gutiérrez, 159-160.

26
Here, then, is the importance of the full scope of liberationist praxis: to see, to judge, and
to act. Critical theological reflection on both the Biblical texts and the present context allows
one to understand and thus join in with God’s continuing salvific, and thus liberating, purposes
for the world. Crucial for Gutiérrez is how the liberating work of God grants self-awareness and
autonomy to the poor and oppressed, in stark contrast to their dependence on the powerful
(indeed, the oppressor) in a developmentalist mindset. Ludwig Müller sums up this process well:
Throughout this process, there results an option for the people who need to be freed and
who participate actively and consciously in the faith that is set free in the process of
liberation. These people are those who are oppressed, poor, and suffering. God’s
liberating action empowers them to become personal subjects. As such, they not only
receive passively the gift of freedom, but at the same time they become collaborators in
God’s liberating process. They move from being objects for assistance from the state and
the church to being personal subjects who actively undertake and cooperate with God’s
process of liberation.
68

Thus, Stam writes of liberation theology’s “Praxeological method:” biblical and theological
reflection cannot be separated from the goal of transforming lives and history.
69
Similarly,
Gutiérrez writes of the importance of both orthodoxy and orthopraxis: faith is “verified” in
practice.
70

While the theological discourses, and more importantly, the practices associated with
liberation theology do not by any means constitute the totality of the religious landscape, they
serve as a framework through which to understand the struggle of the Latin American Christians
in the context of poverty and oppressive regimes.
71
This persistence of faith, one that sees the

68
Gutiérrez and Müller, 6

69
Stam and Goizueta, “Liberation theology.”

70
Gutiérrez, 10

71
Cruz notes, for instance, the significant influence of Pentecostalism as well. Cruz, 38-43, 77. As such, it should be
clarified that Golijov’s Pasión resonates with one particular Latin American theological tradition, but in doing so
should be not understood to comprehensively embody the entirety of the religious landscape.

27
coming Kingdom of Jesus as constituted, in part at least, by the call for justice and liberation in
society, finds embodiment in Golijov’s Passion. As such, the following commentary seeks to
highlight the many ways in which the work finds resonance with this theological tradition.

28
CHAPTER 2: PROLOGUE AND ANUNCIOS (NOS. 1-6)
Prologue (Nos. 1-2)
The first two movements of La Pasión según San Marcos can be understood to serve as a
prologue to the rest of the work. Golijov reaches back to Jesus’ baptism connecting it with his
impending death. This juxtaposition serves as a primary interpretive frame for the work as a
whole: Jesus being both beloved and abandoned, both God’s chosen Messiah and condemned
man on a cross.
Golijov also introduces two primary compositional elements: Brazil as one of his
geographical centers and his uniquely austere orchestration. Both of these will come into greater
focus later in the discussion of the opening choral movements (Nos. 3-5). Nonetheless, the most
notable element of Golijov’s Passion introduced here and used throughout, is his employment of
ritual.
In an interview with David Harrington, Golijov states that “...unlike a Protestant Passion
which is about meditating and commenting, this passion is about enactment and ritual.”
72
In his
Prologue, Golijov establishes this ritualistic function that will be operative through his entire
work. It could be argued that indeed all musical performances are some form of ritual, and given
the liturgical context in which Passions are historically based, this would all the more be the
case, even when they are performed in concert halls. Nonetheless, from the very beginning
Golijov’s setting comes off as intentionally ritualistic. Golijov includes text for the opening
movement of the program, but these words are never heard.

72
Harrington, 45. It would be worthwhile to question whether Bach, for instance, would have affirmed this
dichotomy between mediation/commenting and ritual/enactment. It is likely that he would have so thoroughly
absorbed the ritualistic function of the Lutheran liturgy to have seen discursive comment in his Passion account as
inseparable from embodied enactment. Nonetheless, as stated above, Golijov’s setting still is notable in its relative
lack of discursive commentary compared to Bach’s settings.

29
[VOICE FROM HEAVEN
Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

JESUS
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?]

While it is clear from interviews that Golijov finds these words, and even more so their
striking juxtaposition, essential and hopes the audience will have access to the program, it also
seems that he wishes the audience to infer their own connections from the text provided to the
embodied actions and music-making occurring on stage.
73
This is followed by the mysterious
“Dance of the Ensnared Fisherman,” for which there is neither text given nor biblical story
clearly associated.
74
Nonetheless, the actions of both these movements, influenced by the given
text and titles, but in no way fully encapsulated by them, are clearly latent with meaning for the
audience to both decipher in the moment and discover as the composition plays out. In a sense,
this is the heart of ritual: finding meaning in embodied action.
A comprehensive engagement with the vast field of ritual studies is beyond the scope of
this dissertation; as is the case for the many relevant fields of study only touched upon here, the
reader is invited to investigate beyond what is included in this commentary. For our purposes,
particularly regarding the relationship between ritual, music, and society, Christopher Small’s
discussion of ritual in his influential book, Musicking, will serve as a starting point. Using the
work of anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Clifford Geertz, Small argues that ritual uses the
language of gesture to explore human relationships, particularly societal ones: “Ritual is a form

73
In an excerpt from a letter to Helmuth Rilling, Golijov shares his visual representation of the first movement and
how the different texts relate. Osvaldo Golijov, La Pasión según San Marcos, Deutsche Grammophon, CD Notes
and Libretto, 2010. 32.

74
The closest association would likely be when Jesus calls his disciples to follow him: “As Jesus passed along the
Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus
said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’” (Mark 1:16-17). See further commentary on No. 2:
“Dance of the Ensnared Fisherman.”

30
of organized behavior in which humans use the language of gesture, or paralanguage, to affirm,
to explore and to celebrate their ideas of how the relationships of the cosmos (or of a part of it)
operate, and thus of how they themselves should relate to it and to one another.”
75
Important to
this exploration is the language of gesture, that is to say, embodied meaning and communication,
which is conveyed in some organized fashion allowing a whole community to participate. For
Small, since embodied engagement is the significant part of one’s role in the ritual action, it
follows then that all present are, in some way, participants; there is no performer/audience
distinction.
76

Ritual, then, as embodied meaning, is very different from communicating through text
only. Small argues that unlike verbal discourse, in ritual “the participants not only learn about
those relationships but actually experience them in their bodies. They explore the relationships,
they affirm and they celebrate them, without having to articulate them in words; indeed, no
words can adequately express the relationships as they are felt at that time.”
77
Thus, ritual not
only communicates differently from text, but perhaps has the power to communicate beliefs,
ideals, concepts and feelings that words cannot. In this point, Small uses the analogy of how
metaphors operate. When we think metaphorically, Small writes, “we project patterns that derive
from the concrete experience of our bodies and our senses onto more abstract experiences and
concepts.”
78
In other words “we refer to bodily experiences to help us deal with more abstract

75
Christopher Small, Musicking, (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1998), 95.

76
Small, 196-197.

77
Small, 96.

78
Small, 102.

31
concepts.”
79
Both metaphor and ritual make use of our bodily experiences, though the latter has
the unique aspect of being experienced in real time.
80
It is for all these reasons that Small
concludes that ritual is “the mother of all the arts.”
81

It seems Golijov could agree with this account of ritual and its unique ability to carry
meaning through embodiment in a way that words cannot. Citing Picasso’s famous painting
Guernica, Golijov believes that at times symbols can allow one to get to the core of reality better
than reality itself.
82
With a history of Passion settings being significantly discursive (or at least
understood as such), Golijov wishes to draw audiences’ attention past the words to the events
represented on stage, forcing them to search for deeper, embodied meaning. This is not to say
that the embodied meaning of gesture and ritual is always preferable to the discursive meaning
of text. Surely there are times when artists find the specificity and (seeming) clarity of text
necessary for their purposes. Bach’s passion settings in the context of the Lutheran liturgy of
Holy Week certainly had specific didactic purposes, and the extensive use of intentionally
selected texts is entirely appropriate for these purposes.
83
On the other hand, Golijov is likely
open to a wider range of responses from his intended audiences allowing for the possibility of
exploring more embodied, albeit less unambiguously didactic, forms of communication.

79
Small, 103.

80
Quoting Mark Johnson, Small adds that “these metaphoric associations are not random but are highly structured
and depend on the shared bodily experiences of members of the same social group.” Thus, “the style of our
metaphors, in other words, is determined to a large extent by the experience and the assumptions of the social and
cultural group to which we belong.” Small, 103. One interesting result of this would be that different communities
will experience a ritual act differently than others, which perhaps might explain the wide range of responses to
Goiljov’s Passion.

81
Small, 105.

82
Harrington, 47.

83
On the didactic function of Bach’s music, see John Eliot Gardiner, Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven, (New
York: Vintage Books, 2015), 348.

32
Yet, Small is clear that the embodied communication of ritual need not be value neutral.
In fact, ritual seems to be one of the primary ways in which a community affirms certain societal
values, certain visions of ideal relationships, over others. Small writes:
Through their gestures, those taking part in the ritual act articulate relationships among
themselves that model the relationships of their world as they imagine them to be and as
they think (or feel) that they ought to be. As the anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1973)
puts it in a resounding formulation, when we take part in a ritual act ‘the lived-in order
merges with the dreamed-of order.’
84

The embodied meanings of ritual can thus be just as normative as the discursive
meanings of text, and perhaps be even more powerfully felt.
85
What makes understanding the
meaning of a gestural act tricky, however, is the fact that the embodied meaning generally
depends on the shared bodily experiences, as well as communication norms, of a particular
community. Citing philosopher Mark Johnson, Small writes of metaphor, and by extension of
ritual, “these metaphoric associations are not random but are highly structured and depend on the
shared bodily experiences of members of the same social group.”
86
Thus, Small adds, “the style
of our metaphors, in other words, is determined to a large extent by the experience and the
assumptions of the social and cultural group to which we belong.”
87
A result of this is that
different communities might interpret a gestural act in widely varying ways. Given the deeply
felt and potentially value-laden nature of ritual that we have established, all this might explain

84
Small, 95.

85
There is, thus, the possibilities for text and gesture to simultaneously communicate seemingly contradictory
meanings, which brings up the possibility of irony and other semantic possibilities. See Clavere’s semiotic analysis
for how the interaction between text and genre related associations play out in specific movements of Golijov’s
Passion. Javier Clavere, “Semiotic Analysis of Osvaldo Golijov’s Musical Setting of the Passion Narrative in ‘La
Pasión según San Marcos,’” M.M. Thesis, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, 2008.

86
Small, 103.

87
Small, 103.

33
the wide range of responses that Golijov’s Passion has evoked from various critics and
communities.
Interestingly, Golijov’s invocation of a ritual function for his Passion finds striking
parallels in the work of biblical scholar Nicole Wilkinson Duran, who argues that the Gospel of
Mark itself leads the reader through a kind of ritual.
88
Duran begins by noting what she and
others have perceived as incongruities and lack of coherence in Mark’s narrative. Mark’s style is
often perceived to be abrupt, and perhaps even unrefined by some, constantly shifting scenes
with little comment or obvious purpose. While many biblical scholars seek to find a coherent
unified meaning in spite of these apparent incongruities, Duran instead argues that Mark’s
intention is not to establish a unified theological system communicated via logical discourse per
se.
89
Rather, Mark seeks to bring the reader through a series of experiences, analogous to the
function of ritual. In response to the perceived ambiguity and “choppy quality” of the text,
Duran insightfully asks:
The question is whether these features are the evidence of Mark’s conscious literary
technique or of his grappling with an unwieldy reality. Camery-Hogatt goes as far as to
say that language is an effort to humanize experience, and that it is thus that the Passion
attempts to understand the incomprehensible through its narrative. That Mark has more to
express than ordinary language is capable of expressing is a point I would press further –
it is not simply expository prose that Mark finds inadequate but language itself.
90

88
Nicole Wilkinson Duran, The Power of Disorder: Ritual Elements in Mark's Passion Narrative, The Library of
New Testament Studies, (London: T&T Clark, 2009).

89
“More than any other New Testament writer, with the possible exception of John of Patmos, Mark has what John
Keats called ‘negative capability’. That is, the author has an attraction to and a tolerance for that which he does not
fully understand, a love/hate relationship with the means of expression – the means for expressing and for truncating
the richness of perceived meaning. Matthew and Luke each make it very clear that they know what the story they are
telling means and that they intend to tell you what it means; whatever else these two gospels may be, they are
narrative theology in the sense of theology made clear and palatable as narrative. But Mark’s narrative does not
make his theology clear, because Mark’s theology is not clear – he is not a theologian, but a writer.” Duran, 12.

90
Duran, 9.

34
Instead, Mark’s style points to the employment of ritual.
91
Citing Herman C. Waitjen,
Duran writes that Mark uses narrative to bring the reader through “a series of experiences in
order to instruct him or her with the understanding that those experiences confer.”
92
While
certainly Mark’s account is text, Duran adds that “Mark fights the medium of words that he
inhabits, using ritual motifs and producing a ritual ambiance in an effort to go beyond invoking
experience, into ritual’s realm of recreating and even constituting experience.”
93

Duran’s conclusions resonate with the work of Jeremy Begbie and other theologians who
suggest that theology qua discursive text might place limits on what can be communicated; thus
the arts could play a unique and necessary role in theological discourse.
94
All this, perhaps,
stands the purpose of a Passion setting on its head: instead of a musical work seeking to merely
enhance a fundamentally discursive account, perhaps composers like Golijov are actually
employing a form of communication that Mark was seeking to emulate in his Gospel account.

No. 1: “Visión: Bautismo en La Cruz” (Vision: Baptism on the Cross)
Instrumental, basado en los siguientes textos:
[LA VOZ DE LOS CIELOS
Tú eres él, mi hijo amado, yo a ti te elegí
JESÚS
Elohí, Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?]

91
Duran’s understanding of ritual is quite similar to that of Small’s. Duran writes that ritual “leads the participant
through experiences programmed to affirm the desired understanding of society. If narrative teaches through the
echoes of experience, ritual teaches through experience itself, socializing the individual through the specific actions
of the ritual.” Duran, 13.

92
Duran, 13.

93
Duran, 16.

94
See, for example, Jeremy Begbie, Theology, Music and Time, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000)
and Maeve Louise Heaney, Music As Theology: What Music Says About the Word, Princeton Theological
Monograph. (Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2012).

Instrumental, based on the following texts:
[VOICE FROM HEAVEN
Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
JESUS
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?]
As noted earlier, genre expectations play a significant role in the interpretation of
meaning for any work. The opening moments of any composition are often some of the most
memorable and intentionally crafted. Thus, it would be beneficial to compare Golijov’s opening
with those of other Passion settings. Here, we will have to limit our survey to the most prominent
and known settings (likely those who have had the most influence on genre expectations) and
thus we will examine the openings of Bach’s two major Passions, and that of Penderecki’s St.
Luke Passion.
In essence, each of these Passions open with a prayer of a present-day supplicant,
meditating upon the significance of the Passion story and responding in prayer. The famous
opening of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is a meditation on the atoning sacrifice of Christ as the
“Lamb of God,” with the following text as a soprano descant:
“O guiltless Lamb of God, slaughtered on the stem of the cross,
always found patient, how despised You were.
You have born all sin, else we must have despaired.
Have mercy on us, O Jesus”
95

Bach’s St. John Passion, notable for how masterfully it resonates with the Johannine
portrait of Christ’s victorious death, exalts the dying Son of God as noble Lord.
“Lord, our Lord, whose fame in all lands is noble!
Show us through your Passion, that you, the true Son of God, for all time,
even in the deepest lowliness, have been made noble.”
96

95
From the liner notes of Ton Koopman’s 2014 Recording. Johann Sebastian Bach, Matthäus Passion. Ton
Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, Boys Choir of Sacraments-Church Breda, Program
Notes Libretto, Challenge Records, CC 72642, 2014, 30.

96
From Katherine Firth’s study translation in Andreas Loewe, Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion (BWV
245): A Theological Commentary with a New Study Translation by Katherine Firth and a Foreword by N.T. Wright,
(Leiden: Brill, 2014), 104.

36
Penderecki’s setting opens with the Latin hymn Vexilla regis proeunt, venerating the
pardoning and transforming power of Christ’s cross and invoking the Holy Trinity.
O Cross, our one reliance, hail!
So may thy power with us avail
To give new virtue to the saint,
And pardon to the penitent
To thee, eternal Three in One,
Let homage meet by all be done.
97

Each of these settings reveals the liturgical roots of what have now become standard
concert works (though Bach’s Passions, as they were originally, are still performed in liturgical
settings). These opening lines are intended not so much for an audience but a congregation:
people actively and devotionally responding in the present time. Golijov’s setting, on the other
hand, carries no such considerations. Instead, Golijov seems to dive immediately into the
dramatic crux of the entire work, the jarring polarity of Jesus’ life and identity, leaving the
audience to respond as they will. Furthermore, the audience’s “distance” from the events being
portrayed is taken away. In the opening of Bach’s Passions, the observing congregation is
somewhat removed, even if still devotedly engaged, in prayerful remembrance. In Golijov’s
Passion, the audience is thrust into the inner turmoil of Jesus’ cry. Were these words of
affirmation echoing in his mind as he was dying? Golijov’s account is thus by contrast almost
existentialist, resembling the subjective sense of being “thrown” into reality, with all its
ambiguities and contradictions.
Notably, the text is a dialogue across time, the heavenly voice’s words of affirmation
answered by Jesus’ anguished cry of dereliction. The former is quoted from Mark’s account of

97
Krzysztof Penderecki, Passio et Mors Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Secundum Lucam. (Celle, Germany: Moeck
Verlag, 1967), 5.

37
Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:9-11 KJV).
98
Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, and upon coming out
of the water, he sees the heavens torn apart with the Holy Spirit descending upon him, with a
voice from heaven saying: “Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Yarbro
Collins believes this statement echoes both Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1, suggesting not merely
divine regard, but messianic appointment.
99
This dramatic moment of divine affirmation, then,
makes its comparison with Jesus’ cry of abandonment on the cross all the more striking.
Nonetheless, the divine affirmation in Isaiah 42:1 refers to the “Servant of the Lord” figure found
throughout Isaiah, who himself suffers on behalf of his people.
100
Thus, Lane comments that
Jesus’ baptism is itself an act of submission to the Servant-vocation he is called to, and the
cosmic significance thereof.
101
In fact, Jesus even compares his impending death with the
imagery of baptism earlier in Mark’s Gospel account (Mark 10:38). The divine affirmation of
Jesus’ baptism and his cry of dereliction from the cross, then, while dissonant to the extreme
from a human perspective, both find unity and resonance in a full Old Testament understanding
of the Messianic calling, not to mention, of course, a Christian theology of the Cross and
atonement. Nonetheless, the striking juxtaposition of these two texts should not be glossed over.

98
Yarbro Collins writes that while John’s Baptism has roots in ritual purification found in Leviticus, it may also
have had broader implications regarding both sinfulness generally as well as God’s anticipated eschatological
promise in Ezekiel 36 when he would definitively cleanse his people and put his spirit within them. Adela Yarbro
Collins, Mark: A Commentary. Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 2007), 139.

99
Psalm 2:7 “I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.
Isaiah 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon
him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” While the latter technically refers to the “Servant of the Lord” found
in Isaiah, many interpreters have understood this figure to be messianic. Yarbro Collins, 150.

100
Cf. Isaiah 53 and other passages.

101
William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark. The New International Commentary on the New Testament,
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 58.

38
For Golijov’s Passion, the baptism of Jesus serves as a sort of counter-ritual to the cross.
102
Here,
we are reminded of the existential horror of one seemingly abandoned by God.
For a broader public as well, we are reminded of the reality of senseless evil and injustice
in a world we assume to be good, orderly and fair. Nonetheless, whether intentionally or not, by
highlighting this existential contradiction upfront, Golijov has made the experiences of Latin
American Christians the “context” of his Passion. Gustavo Gutiérrez makes the insightful
comment that liberation theology, as contextual theology, is theology from the perspective of
those who are “simultaneously poor and believing.”
103

I am referring to those who live out their faith in the midst of poverty, which means that
each of these characteristics leaves its mark on the other; to live out and think through
Christian faith cannot therefore be accomplished apart from an awareness of the situation
of exploitation and marginalization in which such persons find themselves.
104

The juxtaposition of suffering and faith, the challenge of belief in the face of
abandonment, then, is the existential world in which the Latin American Church finds itself.
Since colonial times, Latin American Christians have lived consistently with injustice on
individual and societal levels, even while at times being the cause of such injustices. “No
dimension of human existence — which itself is lived in the midst of complex social situations –
escapes the condition of being a disciple of Jesus. From this reality arise constant challenges to
the discourse on faith,” writes Gutiérrez.
105
If Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, using a Lutheran lens,

102
Interestingly, Tan Dun’s Water Passion after Saint Matthew also begins with Jesus’ baptism. Tan Dun. Water
Passion After St. Matthew. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 2000.

103
Gustavo Gutiérrez and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, On the Side of the Poor: A Theology of Liberation,
(Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2015), 39.

104
Gutiérrez and Müller, 39.

105
Gutiérrez and Müller, 3.

39
saw the individual guilt of German believers as the contextual starting place for meditation on
the Passion, then Golijov’s begins with the challenge of faith for Latin American Christians in
the face of suffering. Thus, it is a particularly appropriate frame to understand the rest of his
Passion.

No. 2: Danza del Pescador Pescado (Dance of the Ensnared Fisherman)
Danza con red — instrumental Dance with net — Instrumental

It is here that Golijov’s use of gesture, ritual, and symbolism come into play. As the
musical texture thins out, the berimbau player performs a dance wrapped in a net. This will be
the first of three capoeira dances that Golijov uses to divide the Passion.
106
As mentioned above,
the naming of the ensnared dancer as a fisherman perhaps recalls Jesus’ calling of his first
disciples in Mark 1:16-20:
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a
net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will
make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he
went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their
boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in
the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

The irony is that the master fisherman is now himself ensnared, or at least seemingly so.
This recalls the mocking of the religious authorities who mocked Jesus on the cross in Mark
15:31, ““He saved others; he cannot save himself.” Like the words in No. 1 “Visión,” there is
Old Testament context from the prophets here as well. Lane notes that “in the OT prophetic
tradition, it is God who is the fisher of men. The passages in which the image is developed are

106
Harrington, 47.

40
distinctly ominous in tone, stressing divine judgment.”
107
The most obvious interpretation of the
fisherman ensnared is that Jesus is tragically ensnared by those who plot his death. Nonetheless,
this prophetic background suggests an additional layer of irony, a reading that resonates with the
Gospel of Mark itself: those who think they are ensnaring the fisherman are themselves being
ensnared in their own evil.
Regardless, both theologically and musically, these opening movements serve as the
framing prologue for the rest of the Passion, a frame that will be correspondingly echoed in the
final two movements Nos. 33-34, “Muerte” and “Kadish.” Musically, Golijov introduces the
trumpet figure representing Jesus’ cry of dereliction that will be sung by the soloist in No. 33:
“Muerte.” The berimbau-led texture that opens the whole work will be repeated for the Kaddish.
Finally, the accordion and rising bassline texture in Danza will close the work at m. 151 of the
Kaddish, which Golijov labels “Epílogo.” It seems that Golijov would likely have us frame the
work with similar theological motives as well. The Kaddish is an expression of worship and
trust in response to death, surrounded by two lamenting voices: the prophet Jeremiah’s “O vos
omnes” and Jesus’ “Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?” The central question of the Passion, the
challenge of faith in the face of suffering and evil, will persist through the entirety of the work,
as it has for Latin American Christians for centuries.
Anuncios (Nos. 3-6)
As mentioned earlier, Golijov has demonstrated an openness to significantly altering the
genre norms of the Passion setting. Traditionally, particularly in a liturgical context, the

107
Lane, 67. Lane cites Jer. 16:16; Ezek. 29:4 f.; 38:4; Amos 4:2; Hab. 1:14-17 as examples.

41
“Passion account” proper begins in the garden of Gethsemane.
108
After the Prologue, Golijov
begins the first narrative section of his Passion with Jesus’ words from his often labeled “Olivet
Discourse” in Mark 13, followed by the plot of the religious leaders to kill Jesus. Why start
earlier? A simple explanation might be to provide context: compared to a congregation, a concert
audience will likely have less knowledge about the biblical account. In addition to this, however,
Golijov’s inclusion of these earlier episodes not only provides narrative context, but also sets up
the dramatic tension between Jesus’ announcement of his impending kingdom and the threat of
his opposition. The opening three proclamations succinctly state the intentions of the two parties
in conflict, and thus initiate the drama of La Pasión. Where the Prologue presents the existential
or emotional challenge of the work, the Anuncios set up the narrative plot.
In addition, we might also say that this section lays out key theological themes of the
Passion, again in contrast to traditional genre expectations. Jesus’ first words are sung not by a
baritone, but by the chorus, introducing Golijov’s intention to present a “Jesus of the people.”
109

Furthermore, the “evangelist” is explicitly instructed in the score to take the role of a babalao, a
priest of Santería. Both of these twists on the traditional roles in the Passion setting immediately
suggest a desire on the part of the composer to challenge traditional genre and theological
expectations.
Finally, the Anuncios also lay a foundation for several of the musical elements that
Golijov will employ throughout the work including the modulating between percussion

108
Bach’s St. John Passion and Penderecki’s Passion both start here, as does Raymond Brown’s The Death of the
Messiah. Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, 2 vols., (New York: Doubleday, 1994)
Notably, the only Passion 2000 setting to begin its narrative portion in the garden is Rihm’s Deus Passus.
Gubaidulina begins in John 13 with Jesus washing the disciples feet and Tan begins with Jesus’ baptism and
subsequent temptation in Matthew 3 and 4. Furthermore, also similarly to Golijov, Tan and Gubaidulina have a
substantial amount of material included before the garden; each place the garden account about halfway through
their composition.

109
David Harrington, “An Interview with Osvaldo Golijov,” Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Program, 45.

42
ensembles to signify transitions between sections, his unique orchestration, and Brazil and Cuba
as the primary geographical “centers” of the work.

No. 3: Primer Anuncio (First Announcement)
JESÚS (CORO)
Despiértense, porque no saben
cuando va a llegar el Señor.
¡Vení, Jesú!

Si al anochecer, a medianoche,
al canto del gallo o a la mañana…
no saben cuando viene el Señor.

JESUS (CHORUS)
Watch ye therefore, for ye know not
when the master of the house cometh.
Come, Jesus!

At evening, or at midnight,
or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning…
for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh.

For the first Anuncio (translated in the libretto as “announcement” but what will be called
in this dissertation “proclamation”), Golijov provides a significant amount of instructions and
imagery in the score for how the choir should perform this opening movement. The choir, split
into three ensembles, is to reflect “a triple procession coming down a mountain from three
different towns” whose words should “invade the space like volcanic lava.”
110
Their timbre is
labeled “Africa” and described as “an open, covered” sonority “full of harmonics, but not nasal.”
Their forte dynamic should “not be forced, but understood as the force of nature.” Finally, the
final notes of the phrase need to be maintained with force, growing until the end, with an
“undaunted” character that Golijov compares to the “women of Botero.”
111
Such extensive
instruction and vivid imagery reveals how intentionally referential Golijov wishes this opening
movement to be. These initial words of warning are not merely those of an individual, but of an

110
Osvaldo Golijov, La Pasión según San Marcos, (New York: Hendon Music, 2000), 12.

111
Columbian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero (b. 1932) is particularly known for his distinct portrayal of the
female form.

43
entire community, and perhaps even of nature itself. Whatever is being announced, it is
imminent and unstoppable.
Jesus’ words are from Mark 13:35, part of the closing section of his Olivet Discourse in
Mark 13.
112
One of only two large discourses in the Gospel of Mark, the Olivet Discourse is an
extended teaching and warning by Jesus to his disciples about the trials of times to come and the
eschatological return of the Son of Man.
113
As is the case for most apocalyptic sections of the
Bible, there are a wide variety of interpretations. Nonetheless, a general theme of the entire
discourse is an eschatological warning to be watchful, and in this case, for the coming of “the
master of the house.” The immediate context for v. 35, which closes the Olivet Discourse, is as
follows:
But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is
like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each
with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep
awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or
at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes
suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. (Mark 13:32-37)

Jesus’ imperatives to “keep alert” and “keep awake” punctuate not only this section, but
the entire discourse, increasing the sense of urgency.
114
The disciples are compared to servants

112
Golijov adds “¡Vení Jesús!” (“Come Jesus!”).

113
Mark’s Gospel is unique in its lack of long teaching discourses by Jesus. By contrast, Matthew intersperses five
long discourses into his narrative. Mark Allen Powell, Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary and
Theological Survey, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009) 115. See Ch. 2 “The Gospel of Mark and the Passion
Genre.”

114
Yarbro Collins observes how the command to “watch out” or “beware” occurs throughout the Olivet Discourse
and changes according to the context. “In vv. 5b and 23a the command is to beware of deceivers. In v. 9a, it
concerns proper behavior in the context of persecution. In v. 33a, the command is generalized to express the attitude
that followers of Jesus should adopt between the resurrection of Jesus and his arrival as Son of Man.” Adela Yarbro
Collins, Mark: A Commentary. Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 2007), 617-618.

44
watchful for their master’s return.
115
In particular, the doorkeeper is to be awake and alert, even
during the watches of the night so they may unlock and open the door at the moment of the
master’s arrival. Marcus notes that the doorkeeper’s tasks were to keep out unwanted visitors
and admit welcome ones, including the master himself, as the doors were locked from the inside.
Absolute trust was thus required for this role, as failure in performing one’s duty in this regard
could lead to grave consequences.
116
While it is tempting to see the crowing of the cock in the
subsequent line as foreshadowing Peter’s denial (No. 24), “in the evening, or at midnight, or at
cockcrow, or at dawn” (13:35b) suggests the Roman division of the night into four watches.
117

The servant must be ready at all times, even at the darkest hours of the night. Lane writes that
this parable was often echoed in early Christian patterns of exhortation, applying this concept of
vigilance to a Christian’s ministry in the terms of work and labor: a faithful servant will be
actively engaged in his Master’s service upon his arrival.
118
Of course, this also serves as a
warning to the unfaithful or those who have become enemies of the master.
119

When related directly to the Passion narrative, Jesus’ words are particularly ominous,
foreshadowing the disciples’ failure to keep watch and pray with him in the garden of

115
While the NRSV uses the term “slaves” many others (NIV, KJV, ESV) use “servants” or “bondservants.” Due
to exegetical word studies not being the focus here, as well as the history and understanding of the term “slave” in
our contemporary context, I will elect to use “servants” in my discussion. The term “master” has been also noted by
some as being problematic. While acknowledging this, I will retain its usage here in order to best understand the
message of the biblical text, composed as it was at a particular time and in a particular culture.

116
Joel Marcus, Mark:A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2002, 2009), 919.

117
See Lane, 483 and Marcus, 920. Furthermore, note that by this time in Mark’s narrative, Jesus has not yet
predicted Peter’s denial, nor associated it with the crowing of the cock.

118
Lane, 483.

119
Cf. Luke 12:42-46

45
Gethsemane (No. 18 and 19).
120
Viewed from a more redemptive lens, however, this
proclamation could also be connected to Jesus’ opening words of the Gospel account in Mark
1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the
good news.” And in spite of Jesus’ suffering and death, the Christian tradition has understood
that the kingdom of God arrived paradoxically through the death and resurrection of the Messiah.
Thus, the call to watchfulness comes full circle: hearers of Jesus’ proclamation through
Mark’s account are to be watchful for the coming kingdom of God, though not as they might
expect it.
121
Typical kingdoms come in power and force; Jesus’ kingdom paradoxically comes, at
least in significant part, in his suffering and death. Messianic misunderstanding is a common
theme in all the Gospel accounts, and what has been called by many the “upside-down kingdom”
of Jesus has radical implications that range from the ethical to the ethnic. When we add the
additional context of Golijov’s intention for his Passion, we could potentially understand this
opening movement as a warning for Western audiences who might assume a Jesus in their own
image and with their own cultural assumptions and priorities. Audiences who are not watchful
might miss the ways in which the kingdom of God comes through a “black Jesus,” or more
broadly in the work of God’s Spirit through the people of Latin America. Jesus’ closing line of
the Olivet Discourse suggests a broader target audience than just his disciples who are listening
in Mark’s account: “And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” (v. 37).
122

120
In Mark’s Gethsemane account , note in particular Jesus’ repeated urging to the disciples to “keep awake” in
14:34 and 14:38.

121
Marcus, 923. Marcus’ analysis supports this double theological reading of the eschatological coming, relating it
both to the distant future of Christ’s “second coming” but also to the near future: the decisive event of his death and
resurrection.

122
Yarbro Collins writes that while it is possible that Jesus meant to merely include all of his disciples beyond the
four he is teaching in Mark 13 (Peter, James, John and Andrew), due to Mark 13:14 breaking the “fourth wall” as it
were to address the reader/hearer of the text, it is likely Mark meant v. 37 to do so as well, thus referring, according
to Yarbro Collins, to all the followers of Jesus in the post-resurrection period. Yarbro Collins, 619.

46
Not only do the first words of La Pasión break genre expectations, but also in the means
by which they are delivered. Jesus’ first words are announced not by a baritone, the role
traditionally assigned to Jesus in Passion settings, but by the chorus. It is, admittedly, not
unusual for the words of one person to be set for chorus, but Golijov was particularly intentional
about this choice. In his interview with David Harrington, Golijov shared that, “In this Passion I
thought that most of the time the voice of Jesus would be the choir because for me Jesus
represents the people, transformed into a collective spirit.”
123
We will see that Golijov will
continue to challenge genre expectations by later having the words of Jesus sung by a female
vocalist. Nonetheless, this initial decision to associate the words of Jesus with the collective soul
of the people finds resonance with a major theme in the writings of many liberation theologians.
For Jon Sobrino, “the poor of the world are the crucified Jesus today.”
124
Even if unintentionally,
Golijov resonates significantly with these liberation theologians as he seeks to portray a Jesus
who fundamentally identifies with the people, particularly the poor and suffering communities of
Latin America.
While the Batá drumming introduced here will be discussed more thoroughly in the
commentary for No. 6, Golijov’s unique deployment of his instrumental forces is representative
of the entire work and deserves some mention at this time. In his interview with Brian Bell,
Golijov describes his orchestration technique as illustrated by a cross, with a “stark” backbone of
rhythm and chant.
125
Colorfully, he describes wanting his instrumentation to be “hot” like the

123
Harrington, 45.

124
Joel M. Cruz, The Histories of the Latin American Church: A Handbook, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.)
74..
125
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Brian Bell. Boston Symphony Orchestra. Dec. 12, 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELO90llngpg.

47
cooking technique of ceviche, and as such he avoided instruments that would “cook” and “melt”
such as violas. The result is a relatively austere deployment of instruments, primarily centered
around the interaction of percussion ensembles and voice, indeed, as Golijov says, a “story told
by voices and drums.”
126

In particular, Golijov describes a very specific function for the percussion in La Pasión.
Everything begins with the Batá drums, says Golijov, with subsequent percussion ensembles as
different “tonalities” through which the piece will “modulate,” creating a “rhythmic journey.”
127

Furthermore, the percussion will provide an additional sense of journey through its changes in
geographical origin. The instrumentation of No. 1 “Visión,” centered around berimbau and
caxixi, evokes the music of Brazilian capoeira. The batá drums, on the other hand, suggest the
drumming of Cuban Santería. Thus, the instrumentation of these opening movements outlines
what Golijov describes as the two geographical centers of La Pasión: Brazil and Cuba.
128

No. 4: Segundo Anuncio (Second Announcement)

MARCOS (SOLO & CORO)
Dos días, sólo dos días faltaban para la pascua, la
fiesta de la matza, y los jefes de los sacerdotes, los
maestros de la ley, buscaban como matar por engaño
a Jesús. Porque decían:
MARK (SOLO & CHORUS)
After two days was the feast of the passover, and of
unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and
put him to death, but they said:

The second proclamation emerges suddenly out of the first. Here, Golijov’s evangelist
begins to tell the story in earnest, introducing both the setting as well as the plot against Jesus.
Indeed, while the conflict of the Passion is just being introduced, the listeners are invited into a
story that has long been unfolding, one that seems to already be on the verge of climatic

126
Harrington, 43.

127
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Brian Bell.

128
Harrington, 47.

48
fulfillment.
129
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has been busy proclaiming the kingdom of God, teaching,
healing and exorcising demons, and throughout the narrative he has been in constant dispute with
the religious authorities. Upon Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, tensions are high. While Jesus has
largely sought to silence rumors about who he is and his actions, many in the crowd believe that
his arrival foreshadows a decisive move to publicly establish his authority.
Why, then, do the religious authorities wish to kill Jesus? At least in Mark’s narrative, it
seems that Jesus’ opponents have wanted him dead for some time. In Mark 3:6, the Pharisees
and the Herodians are first reported to plot Jesus’ death, after he heals a man on the Sabbath in
open opposition to them. The charge of blasphemy, a capital offense, is leveled at Jesus as early
as Mark 2:7. Nonetheless, Jesus’ actions in the temple in Mark 11:15-18, as well as his
subsequent teaching against the religious authorities in Mark 12:1-12, were most likely the
primary catalysts to push Jesus’ opponents into decisive action.
130
Jesus’ famous (or perhaps
infamous) act of overturning the tables in the temple in Mark 11 is commonly understood as the
“cleansing” of the temple, in which Jesus dramatically called for reform in unjust monetary
practices. Garland, along with other commentators, suggests instead that Jesus’ actions are far
more ominous, not only enacting God’s decisive judgment upon the temple cult generally, but
also, along with his words in Mark 13:2, predicting its destruction.
131
Supporting this is Jesus’
thinly veiled parable against the religious authorities in Mark 12, where he compares them to

129
Nineteenth-century theologian Martin Kähler describes Mark’s Gospel as “a passion narrative with an extended
introduction.” Powell, 134.

130
Yarbro Collins, 640. Yarbro Collins argues that those mentioned in Mark 14:1 were likely the leading members
of the Sanhedrin and “temple scribes,” not necessarily associated with the Pharisees mentioned earlier in Mark.
Thus, at least from what Mark reports, these opponents would be primarily responding to Jesus’ actions in the
Temple in Mark 11:15-18.

131
David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 436.

49
treacherous tenants of a vineyard who harm and kill the servants sent by their master. When the
tenants go so far as to kill the son of the master, the master’s retribution is swift and final. In both
cases, Mark reports the religious authorities’ increasing desire to silence and kill Jesus in
response.
So, while perhaps Mark 14:1 is responding to relatively recent events, it can also be seen
as aptly summarizing the conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities that has been
growing throughout the whole of Mark’s narrative. Powell notes that compared to Matthew and
Luke, a greater percentage of Mark’s total narrative relates to Jesus’ rejection, suffering, and
death. Thus, Powell writes “most of Mark’s story may be read as a prelude to what happens at
the end, when Jesus dies on the cross.”
132
In a sense, then, while Jesus’ proclamation in Mark
13:35 could be considered as summative of his call to repentance and faithful discipleship, Mark
14:1 in turn encapsulates the longstanding plot of the religious authorities, both of which have
been running throughout Mark’s Gospel.
The call of the evangelist is echoed by the chorus, suggesting a larger conflict beyond
that of two individuals to one between two groups. Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom,
including his regard for the poor and marginalized of society is countered by the threat of the
religious authorities. Throughout its history, the Latin American Church has struggled between
its loyalty to those in power and those in poverty.
133
Even the first priests and friars found
themselves at odds with the colonizers, with some fully endorsing their actions and others
voicing public dissent. The New Christendom model of the early twentieth century suggested a

132
Powell, 134. Powell also notes that the plot to kill Jesus is mentioned much earlier in Mark. “In Mark’s Gospel,
the plot to kill Jesus is introduced early (3:6); in Matthew, it is introduced considerably later (12:14), and in Luke,
later still (19:47).

133
See Ch. 2: Historical and Theological Context

50
desire by many to retain influence by allying themselves with the ruling governments, even if it
meant justifying their autocratic regimes. Through both the official proclamations of Medellín
and Puebla, as well as the work of liberation theologians, the Catholic Church began to see itself
as a church of the poor, and no longer of those in power. The conflict announced in these
opening two proclamations is the tension in which the Latin American Church has found itself
for centuries.
Golijov’s unique portrayal of Marcos, the voice of the Gospel writer traditionally called
the evangelist, deserves mention as well. In the score, Golijov explicitly writes that the
evangelist should resemble a babalao, a male priest in Santería. With roots in the religious
practices brought by enslaved peoples from West Africa, Santería developed among the former
Spanish colonies, particularly Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. territory of Puerto
Rico. One notable aspect of Santería was the way in which practitioners blended worship of
orisha spirits with their veneration of Roman Catholic saints. This blending of religious practices
from seemingly disparate religious traditions is often labeled “syncretistic” though
anthropologists seem to have found this term unhelpful in many respects.
134
Nonetheless, this
hybridization of Christian cosmologies and practices with others was, and continues to be, quite
common across Latin America.
135
In the case of Santería, while some scholars suggest that this

134
Lamont Lindstrom, “Syncretism.” Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Ed. Alan Barnard and
Jonathan Spencer, 2nd Ed., (London: Routledge, 1996). Lindstrom writes that “Syncretism refers to the
hybridization or amalgamation of two or more cultural traditions.” However, since “all cultures comprise a variety
of diffused and borrowed elements...‘syncretism’ loses much of its descriptive precision and many have deprecated
the utility of the term.”

135
E.g. The Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico incorporates indigenous elements of the Aztec goddess Tonatzin with
the Virgin Mary. See Salvador A. Leavitt-Alcantára, "Latin American Theology." Global Dictionary of Theology,
Edited by William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008).

51
allowed practitioners to both hide, yet maintain their religious traditions, others suggest that this
mixing occurs quite naturally and, at times, unintentionally. Schwaller writes that:
The process of syncretism, though perhaps seemingly haphazard, was more often quite
logical. Indigenous cultures attempted to understand the Spanish in terms of their cultural
assumptions, just as the Spanish attempted to understand the Native Americans according
to their own European cultural assumptions. Where each culture saw a similarity to its
own, it assumed that the underlying tenets were the same. Consequently, the Spanish
missionaries heard one of the Nahua gods described as “He through whom all things
live.” This resonated with them as an apt description of the Christian god, and they
adopted this locution as an epithet for God, yet the native peoples heard it as an epithet
for their own deity Tezcatlipoca. What ensued was what one scholar has described as the
“double-mistaken identity.” The missionaries assumed that the Nahuas understood that
they were describing God, while the Nahuas understood that the missionaries must be
describing Tezcatlipoca.
136

The question of how Christianity relates to culture has been a consistent challenge for the
Church from its beginning. Stephen Bevans’ Models of Contextual Theology helpfully lays out
various ways in which Christians have sought to understand this relationship. One particularly
crucial question is whether Christianity can be defined as a set of timeless doctrines, which are
then “translated” into various cultural settings. Others argue that there is no acultural “pure”
Christianity; rather, it necessarily manifests itself through various cultures.
137
Discussions of
these questions often carry implicit normative judgments about “culture,” whether specifically or
in general.
Regardless, many would agree that hybridization of cultural and religious practices has
been and continues to be integral to the landscape of Latin American Christianity. Many
Christians, including those in Latin American Churches, lament these influences, while others

136
John F. Schwaller, "Syncretism in Latin America." Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Pre-
Colonial Latin America (Prehistory to 1550s), edited by J. Michael Francis, and Thomas M. Leonard, (New York:
Facts On File, 2017) Accessed April 29, 2020.

137
Stephen B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology, revised and expanded edition, (Maryknoll: Orbis Books,
2010.)

52
celebrate them. Whether Golijov’s portrayal of the evangelist as a babalao of Santería is
understood as descriptive or prescriptive will likely cause a range of opinions among listeners.

No. 5: Tercer Anuncio: En Fiesta No (Third Announcement: Not on the Feast Day)
SACERDOTES (CORO)
Pero en fiesta no que no se amotine el pueblo.

PRIESTS (CHORUS)
Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the
people

We note from No. 4 “Segundo Anuncio” that Jesus’ opponents both wanted to kill him
and to do so quietly. This raises the question of why the authorities were so afraid of the crowds.
Apart from their charges of blasphemy, as well as anger at his direct opposition to their teaching,
the religious authorities feared that Jesus would create an uprising. This seems to have been all
the more a danger during the season of Passover. Marcus explains the context for this fear, which
is worth including at length.
This is a reasonable fear, since during the Passover season the population of the .75-
square-mile city of Jerusalem swelled several times to perhaps half a million, producing a
volatile situation that was aggravated by the tantalizing memory of liberation from
Egyptian bondage at Passover and the belief that the eschatological redemption would be
accomplished at the same season...Such disturbances would have threatened the position
of the chief priests and the scribes, who were also priests,...not only because of the
possibility of a direct assault on the Temple (cf. 11:15-19), but also because the Romans
held the Jewish elite responsible for maintaining public order, and any breach in that
order was likely to be taken out on them.
138

As such, the fear was just as much of the Romans as it was of the crowds. As it turns out,
once Judas provided an opportunity by his betrayal, the religious authorities did end up arresting
Jesus during the festival, but were still able to do so covertly at night in Gethsemane.
139
This

138
Marcus, 940. See also Lane, 490.

139
Yarbro Collins, 640.

53
possible dynamic, in which the ecclesiastical authorities are forced into injustice due to fear of
government authorities, echoes the reportedly complicit relationship in some countries of the
Catholic church to the oppressive dictatorial regimes of the twentieth century, such as in
Argentina.
140

There is an interesting irony in Golijov’s use of the chorus in these three proclamations.
The chorus that once spoke the prophetic warning of Jesus immediately after voices the plot of
the religious authorities seeking to kill him. Furthermore, it is interesting that the chorus, indeed
instructed to march together in the score, voices their fear of the people uprising.
141
It is likely
that the gestural action of marching is intended to simultaneously enact the very thing of which
the text is voicing concern. Of course, there is nothing unusual about a particular voice or the
chorus playing multiple roles. Nonetheless, the close proximity of the chorus assuming two roles
in opposition, and indeed in No. 3 simultaneously, is striking.
This double meaning of the crowd has precedent in Bach’s passions, having the chorus
both express the angry accusations of the crowd to “Crucify” as well as immediately after sing a
chorale representing the congregation penitently expressing their guilt in Jesus’ death while
praying for mercy.
142
While it is unlikely that Golijov intends the audience to enter into a similar
state of personal self-reflection, this double meaning of the crowd could be understood as an
ambivalence toward “the people.” While on one hand, Jesus represents “the people” of Latin
America in their collective suffering and calls for justice, “the people” can also be agents of
injustice themselves. While it seems that the strength of the people hinders the vicious plots of

140
Hans-Jürgen Prien, Christianity in Latin America, (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 443.

141
Golijov, La Pasión según San Marcos, 37.

142
Consider Bach’s St. John Passion, Nos. 18-24.

54
the religious authorities, the people can also become a mob incited to condemn and mock Jesus
(see Ch.9, commentary on No. 29).
Nonetheless, it should be noted that Mark’s account as a whole seems to maintain a
relatively clear distinction between the general people and the religious authorities. This is
particularly important in light of the concerns voiced by some about anti-Semitism in the Gospel
accounts. Marcus writes that the fear of the people uprising in Mark 14:1 is illustrative of this
distinction throughout Mark, who seems to mainly place blame on the Jewish leaders for Jesus’
death more than on the people as a whole.
143
Marcus writes that “throughout the Gospel, the
leaders’ negative reaction is contrasted with the people’s positive one, an opposition that
becomes explicit in 12:12, where the leaders refrain from arresting Jesus for fear of the
crowd.”
144

No. 6: Dos Días (Two Days)
MARCOS (CORO)
Dos días faltaban para la pascua.
MARK (CHORUS)
After two days was the feast of the passover

No. 6: “Dos Días” serves as a coda for the Anuncios section, reiterating the proclamation
of the upcoming festival and thus the impending conflict between Jesus and the religious
authorities. The divided choir splits the words by syllable and sings antiphonally, each syllable
sustained and swelling over several measures (Example 2.1).

143
Marcus, 930. Marcus adds that this is particularly notable when compared with Matthew and John.

144
Marcus, 930.

55
Example 2.1: Chorus parts in No. 6: “Dos Días" (mm. 1-3)

These sustained gestures create a sudden slowing in the pacing of text and harmony,
allowing the batá drums to come through. Eventually, the drums will fully take over, creating
what Golijov marks as a “batá storm” that lasts for a significant amount of time.
145
In a reversal

145
This portion of music takes place from mm.17-37 in the printed score, but it seems that recordings don’t follow
this strictly.

56
of traditional roles, the choir, along with the brass and strings, sustains their final sonority like a
drone over the period of the “storm.” The entrance of a piano ostinato marks the end of the batá
storm and transitions attacca into the next section.
Batá drums come in a set of three double-headed hourglass drums, generally played by
three players. The largest drum, called the iyá (the “mother”), is placed in the center with the
itótele to its left and the okónkolo, the smallest drum, to its right. The Iyá serves as the leader of
the ensemble and plays the main oratorical role with the other drums following. Kuss writes that
this division of function according to timbre is a West African feature, reflecting the Yoruba
origin of batá.
146

While batá drums have their origin in African religious practices, in the Latin American
context they are often associated with Santería. Public music rituals known as toques de santo,
which can be serve for a range of community functions, feature batá drumming as integral to the
ritual itself.
147
Schweitzer writes that “in the Santería musical repertoire, there are thousands of
songs and nearly 100 batá rhythms (called toques) each with many variations. The songs and
toques are laden with symbolic, contextual, and linguistic meaning that allows the musicians to
reference and creatively interpret the epic mythological narratives of the orisha.”
148

This social and religious function leads many to say that the drums can have
conversations and tell stories. Golijov himself says that his Passion is a “story told by voices and

146
Melana Kuss, “Batá,” Grove Music Online. January 13, 2015, Accessed June 10, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2274891.

147
Kenneth Schweitzer, “Santeria.” The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture. (Thousand Oaks:
SAGE Publications, Inc. 2019), Accessed June 10, 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483317731.n627.

148
Schweitzer, “Santeria.”

57
drums.”
149
This too, then, is an alternative to the traditional role of the tenor evangelist as
primary source of the narrative. Given Golijov’s extensive use of percussion and his conception
of the work as a rhythmic journey through different ensembles, it is clear that he intends his
percussion to play a consistent narrative role, resonating with the traditional social function of
the batá drums.

149
Harrington, 43.

58
CHAPTER 3: ANOINTING AND BETRAYAL (NOS. 7-13)

The premise of the Passion has been set by the Prologue and the three Anuncios; now the
plot can move forward. Likewise, following the Olivet Discourse, the Gospel of Mark picks up
the pace, edging ever closer to what most hearers knew to be imminent: the death of Jesus.
Commenting on the opening of Mark 14, Yarbro Collins writes:
Mark has artfully combined tradition and his own composition in 14:1-11 in creating an
effective prelude to the passion narrative. The intentions of the leaders of Jerusalem,
especially the chief priests and the temple scribes, to arrest and put Jesus to death,
expressed in 11:18; 12:12; and 14:1-2, are beginning to take a more concrete form and to
be put into effect. The body of Jesus has already been anointed, and his close associate
has begun his treacherous activity.
150

The following six movements of La Pasión relate the events that serve as the catalyst for
Jesus’ arrest, but also reflect on the personal implications the events have on the characters
involved.
151
Divided into two cycles of three movements, Golijov establishes a large-scale
contrast in this section between two people, Judas and the silent woman at Bethany, and between
two questions voiced by the disciples.

No. 7: Unción en Betania (The Anointment in Bethany)
MARCOS (SOLO)
Presten mucha atención: Jesús había ido a Betania a
casa de Simón el leproso, y llegó una mujer con vaso
de alabastro de perfume de nardo puro de mucho
valor. Y el vaso ella rompió, y el perfume derramó
en la cabeza de Jesús, y algunos de los que estaban se
enojaron dentro de sí y comenzaron a murmurar.
MARK (SOLO)
Take heed: Jesus being in Bethany in the house of
Simon the leper, there came a woman having an
alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious.
And she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
And there were some that had indignation within
themselves, and they murmured against her.

150
Adela Yarbro Collins, Mark: A Commentary. Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible,
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 645.

151
The movement “Judas and the Paschal Lamb,” while numbered as both 11 and 12, will be treated as one
movement.

59
Golijov’s contrast of the woman at Bethany with Judas is itself a feature of Mark’s
account. “The passion narrative,” writes Marcus, “begins with an effective example of Markan
sandwich structure that counterposes the lethal machinations of Jesus’ enemies with his clear-
eyed prophecy of his own death.”
152
Using his unique “sandwich” technique, Mark inserts the
anointing at Bethany between two shorter accounts of those plotting against Jesus, in the first
case the religious authorities (14:1-2), and in the second when Judas goes to them voicing his
willingness to betray Jesus (14:10-11). This intercalation technique, used throughout Mark’s
Gospel account, allows Mark to place seemingly disparate characters or situations in striking
juxtaposition, and this is perhaps one of his most effective instances (Table 3.1).
Table 3.1: The “Sandwich” Structure in Mark 14:1-11
Mark 14:1-2 — The plot of the religious leaders against Jesus
Mark 14:3-9 — Jesus is anointed
Mark 14:10-11 — Judas agrees to betray Jesus
Musically, Golijov sets this dramatic change of scene with a completely new texture. Out
of the batá storm emerges a series of ostinati, beginning with a two-measure cell between piano
and low string pizzicati, followed by strings and tres, a Cuban three-course chordophone. The
processions and proclamations have vanished, and the setting is suddenly an intimate indoor
gathering. The Evangelist again makes an appearance (though the role is sung by a different

152
Joel Marcus, Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2002, 2009), 937. Furthermore, Hooker notes that Mark de-emphasizes the plot against Jesus by
making these passages only a few sentences each, instead turning them into mere frames of the anointing passage.
Thus, Mark seems to be making the point that “those who plot Jesus’ death are only subsidiary actors in the real
drama.” Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According To St. Mark, Black’s New Testament Commentaries, (New York:
Continuum, 2001), 330.

60
singer than before), commenting on both the mysterious woman as well as the growing animus
of those gathered toward her actions.
Mark’s account is silent regarding the identity or character of the woman, though John’s
account adds some details.
153
Nonetheless, the focus seems to be on the woman’s actions, not on
her identity.
154
Commentators suggest different associations related to the woman’s anointing,
such as the one typically given to a guest of honor before an important meal, or perhaps that of
the anointing of the dead.
155
Whatever was intended, Jesus primarily interprets it as the latter,
which serves as both an ominous foreshadowing of his death, as well as an example of his
predictive power and that there are perhaps larger forces at work even beyond those who plot his
arrest.
In an interesting reversal of Mark’s account, Golijov postpones his meditation on the
woman’s actions and instead focuses on the growing conflict of the moment. Beginning with the
piano/pizzicato ostinato, Golijoy slowly folds in greater layers of rhythmic and harmonic
dissonance in the strings and the tres, illustrating the growing animus of the disciples (Example
3.1). This intentional frontloading of the dramatic pacing allows Golijov to lead directly into the
disciples’ protests, and thus saves the silent woman’s aria and its relaxation of dramatic pacing
for the end of the cycle.

153
John names her as Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead (John 12:1-3).
Interestingly, John also singles out Judas as the primary critic of Mary’s actions.

154
Some believe the story in Luke 7:36-50 to be a retelling of the same story, though in this case the unnamed
woman anoints Jesus’ feet with both ointment and her tears. The criticism of those present, in turn, is aimed at Jesus
for his seeming ignorance of the woman’s questionable character. Jesus’ subsequent rebuke is coupled with a
pronouncement of forgiveness of sins for the woman. See Robert Gundry, Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for
the Cross, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 802 and Marcus, 939.

155
E.g. Yarbro Collins, 462-643. Hooker adds that Mark’s first readers might have seen symbolism in the action of
breaking as the ointment jars used in anointing the dead were often broken and left in the tomb. Hooker, 329.

61
Example 3.1: Layering of strings and tres in No. 7: “Unción en Betania” (mm. 1-4)

No. 8: ¿Por Qué? (Why?)

APÓSTOLES
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? ¡Que dé el dinero a los pobres!
En vez de desperdiciar podría haberse vendido en
más de trescientos de los denarios.
156

JESÚS
¿Por qué ustedes la molestan? ¿Y no la dejan en paz?
A los pobres siempre tendrán y podrán hacerles bien,
pero a mí no, a mí no me tendrán.

Que ella hizo buena obra, porque ya mi cuerpo ungió
y lo preparó para la sepultura.

APÓSTOLES
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? ¡Que dé el dinero a los pobres!
Porque si se pudiera vender.

JESÚS
De verdad les digo yo: que en todo lugar del mundo
donde esta historia se cuente de ella se van a acordar.

APOSTLES
Why? Why? The money should have been given to
the poor! Why was this waste of the ointment made?
For it might have been sold for more than three
hundred pence.

JESUS
Leave her alone: why trouble ye her? Ye have the
poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye
may do them good. But me ye have not always…

She hath wrought a good work on me. She is come
aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

APOSTLES
Why? Why? The money should have been given to
the poor! It might have been sold.

JESUS
Verily I say unto you: wheresoever this gospel shall
be preached throughout the whole world, this also
that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial
of her.

156
While the translation in the program notes provided translate “denarios” as “pence,” this is misleading in our
current understanding of the word. The NRSV leaves the Greek word as “denarii,” and adds a footnote explaining
that the denarius was the usual day’s wage for a laborer. The NIV, instead, translates the phrase as, “It could have
been sold for more than a year’s wages…”

62
Following the anonymous woman’s anointing of Jesus, the indignant complaint of those
present takes the form of a mambo, a dance of Cuban origin.
157
Golijov’s antiphonal call-and-
response of “¿por qué?” between the divided choir (e.g. mm. 20-25) embodies the pervasiveness
of the grumbling and murmuring among them.
158
What Mark does not specify is who exactly are
the ones grumbling. Matthew specifically says it was the disciples (Matt. 26:8), and John singles
out Judas (John 12:4-5). Nonetheless, Marcus argues that it is likely that Mark meant to refer to
the disciples, which in turn fits with the broader Markan theme of apostolic misunderstanding
found throughout the Gospel account.
159
Nonetheless, Golijov explicitly labels these words as
coming from the disciples.
The “¿por qué?” refrain serves as the first of two “murmuring” choruses representing the
disciples, the other to come later in the Judas cycle (No. 11&12: “Judas y El Cordero Pascual”).
Here, as in the latter chorus, the disciples are placed in opposition to the words of Jesus, sung by
the soloist. Jesus’ defense of the woman’s actions begins by questioning the disciples’
questioning with his own “¿por qué?” His main point is that attending to his impending death
(which in Mark’s account the disciples seem still in the dark about in spite of Jesus’ multiple
predictions of it in chapters 8 through 10) supersedes the general duty of almsgiving. He
furthermore interprets her actions as anointing him for burial and, hence, this good act will be
remembered whenever “this gospel is preached throughout the world.”
160

157
“Mambo,” Grove Music Online, January 20, 2001, accessed February 18, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.17579.

158
Gundry colorfully describes the word as “growling.” Gundry, 802-803.

159
Marcus, 935.

160
Yarbro Collins, citing the work of David Daube, makes the interesting suggestion that since in Mark’s account
Jesus was not anointed for burial by Joseph of Arimathea in Mark 15:46, it was necessary to include the fact that
Jesus was anointed for burial earlier in the story in order to avoid Jesus’ death being seen as dishonorable. Yarbro
Collins, 643.

63
Toward the end of the movement (m. 149 to the end), Golijov effectively surrounds the
soloist singing Jesus’ words with the incessant complaining of the disciples, communicating the
growing dissonance between them (Example 3.2). Lane adds that “The insensitivity of those with
Jesus at the banquet table is yet another factor in his isolation from others as the hour of trial
approaches, and is an integral part of Jesus’ suffering.”
161

Example 3.2: Overlapping of Jesus and the Disciples in No. 8: “¿Por Qué?” (mm. 153-157)

Jesus’ words in Mark 14:7, “for you always have the poor with you, and you can show
kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me,” have sometimes
puzzled readers and led many to use this verse to justify a neglect for the poor.
162
It is worth
pointing out that most commentators believe Jesus is echoing Deuteronomy 15:11 with these
words, and the entire point of this passage is to care for the poor and needy in the land.
163
Marcus

161
Lane, 493.

162
On its face, this is an unjustifiable interpretation when compared with Jesus’ abundant actions throughout the
rest of Mark’s Gospel in which he goes out of his way to care for those whom society marginalized (e.g. Mark 5:24-
34 among his many other healings and exorcisms). Arana 1268 also cites this as a problem in a Latin American
interpretive context.

163
Deuteronomy 15:10-11 NRSV “Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of
this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be

64
thus writes, “Jesus is not, then devaluing service to the poor but assuming that it will remain a
continuing duty in the coming period. He is also, however, pointing toward a more pressing
circumstance in the immediate future: his own approaching death.”
164

In turn, contrary to the disciples’ grumbling, the woman’s actions will be remembered
“whenever this gospel is preached” and thus for all time. The sharper contrast, of course, is with
Judas, whom Mark conspicuously mentions in the following verse as the one who will be forever
remembered as the one who betrayed Jesus (Mark 14:10).
A most notable compositional choice by Golijov, and one that has sparked some
controversy, is his choice to set Jesus’ words in this movement for a woman to sing.
165
For
Golijov this was intentional, saying in an interview that “when I think of Jesus in Latin America,
Jesus is the women, because they have suffered the most...”
166
An example of this for Golijov
are the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, who protested the disappearance of their
children during Argentina’s “Dirty War.” This perspective would likely find strong resonance in
the Latina feminist theology tradition, which finds its roots in the broader liberation theology
movement. For these theologians, the lived experiences of Latina women are central to their
methodology and framework for theology. María Pilar Aquino writes that “the methodological

poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and
needy in your land.”

164
Marcus, 941. Cf. Yarbro Collins, 642 and Hooker, 329. Marcus further notes that since “rabbinic discussions
suggest that the duty of burial overrides other obligations... including perhaps almsgiving... the halakic relevance of
Jesus’ defense of the woman’s action is clear: the three hundred denarii are better spent on Jesus than on the poor,
since the importance of burial supersedes that of almsgiving.” Marcus, 942.

165
The subversion of this genre expectation occurs on an embodied level on stage as well. Upon the beginning of
“¿Por Qué?” the female soloist enters, which most would likely associate with the woman being scorned. Instead,
she ends up being the voice of Jesus, defending the woman and questioning them.

166
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Brian Bell, Boston Symphony Orchestra. Dec. 12, 2013. Accessed on 19 July,
2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELO90llngpg. Golijov gives the example of the mothers of the
Plaza de Mayo.

65
characteristics of this theology include the historicity of the personal and communal reality that
we are, which gives us the freedom to open hopeful possibilities and to deal courageously with
limitations. It also focuses on the daily-life plural experiences of excluded Latina women as the
starting point of critical reflection.”
167
As such, these experiences have led the women in Latin
America to articulate, in word and action, a religious faith that aims at the transformation of a
society plagued by systemic injustice and violence.
168
While Golijov’s choice to give the words
of Jesus to a female singer might not be an explicit articulation of these distinctives of Latina
feminist theology, it is notable that what was likely an intuition for him resonates with how many
women have come to understand their role in Latin American Christianity.
169

More broadly, “¿por qué?” serves as another existential question of the Passion itself.
Golijov suggests that the question “¿por qué?” though in this context questioning the woman’s
actions, can also have broader application.
170
For those in the Passion story, they might wonder
why their God would allow Jesus to die, or perhaps why he frustrated their expectations. For
many Christians in Latin America, the poverty and suffering faced on a daily basis might also
arouse a similar questioning. While Golijov seems to celebrate “the miracle of faith in Latin

167
María Pilar Aquino, “Latina Feminist Theology: Central Features,” A Reader in Latina Feminist Theology,
Edited by María Pilar Aquino, Daisy L. Machado and Jeanette Rodriguez, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002),
150.

168
Aquino, 151-152.

169
In the commentary Comentario Bíblico Contemporaneo written by Latin American evangelical theologians and
pastors, Pedro Arana, while certainly not writing as a Latina feminist, likewise emphasizes the perspective from
which we should read this text. “Debemos acercarnos como pobres a considerar este texto, dispuestos a recibir su
enseñanza, despojándonos de nuestra sabiduría.” [“We should approach the text as the poor when considering this
text, ready to receive its teaching, and stripping ourselves of our own wisdom.”] Pedro Agustín Arana Quiroz,
“Marcos,” Comentario Bíblico Contemporáneo, Edited by C. René Padilla, Milton Acosta Benítez, C. Rosalee
Velloso, (San Sebastián, Costa Rica: Certeza Unida, 2019), 1286.

170
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Brian Bell.

66
America” in his dedication, it is also fitting to include an acknowledgement of what has surely
been for many a life of struggle and questioning in the midst of that faith.

No. 9: Oración Lucumí (Aria con Grillos)
Lucumí Prayer (Aria with Crickets)

La mujer callada en Betania — Instrumental The silent woman in Bethany— Instrumental

While Mark’s account of the anointing ends with Jesus’ words to the disciples, Golijov
lingers an additional moment on this mysterious woman. In spite of the fact that she remains
anonymous, as both one commended by Jesus and as a foil to Judas, the woman of Bethany has
become an important figure in Golijov’s Passion narrative. Interestingly, there is a pattern of
anonymous, often silent, women found throughout Mark’s Gospel. Marcus connects the silent
woman at Bethany with the anonymous widow at the Temple who gives only two small copper
coins to the Temple treasury (Mark 12:41-44). Nonetheless, here, too, Jesus commends the
woman, this time for her act of sacrificial generosity that surpasses the large sums given by the
rich around her. Marcus writes that “these two examples of humble, self-giving female service
form a stark contrast to the greedy and destructive actions of the men in each context.”
171

Further examples of anonymous women whom Jesus commends include the woman suffering
from bleeding in Mark 5:21-43 and the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7:24-30.
172
Golijov’s

171
Marcus, 941.

172
The pattern of portraying these women as silent and anonymous should not necessarily be seen as Mark’s
attempt to marginalize women; in fact, their inclusion in the narrative at all is unusual for the time. The
Syrophoenician woman is actually commended for her clever response (Mark 7:29). More to the point, it is the
female followers of Jesus, not the men, who are first entrusted with testifying to the resurrection (Mark 16:6-7).
The latter instance is an interesting twist on the silent women theme. If we assume that Mark ends with
verse 8, as most scholars seem to agree, Mark’s audience is left with the question of whether these silent women will
nonetheless respond with faith once again worthy of commendation (see David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV
Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 618-620.) While the text of Mark seems to suggest
their failure to obey in 16:8, of course hearers of Mark’s Gospel would have known that, indeed, they did end up
sharing what they saw.

67
aria, like the woman without any spoken text, uniquely captures this Markan theme of silence,
one that he will continue to explore throughout La Pasión.
173

Golijov again acknowledges the influence of African religion on Santería and Latin
American Christianity with his title “Lucumí Prayer.” In contrast to the argumentative exchange
just heard, this movement is a wordless conversation between violins and tres. Golijov’s stark
change of texture suggests a different world, a different relationship shared between two parties.
Instead of the voices of the disciples and Jesus shouting over one another, the violins and tres are
delicately intertwined, portraying a deeper level of understanding and harmony (Example 3.3).

Example 3.3: Exchange between violin and tres in No. 9: “Oración Lucumí” (mm. 14-17)

Whatever additional exchange that occurred, if any, between the woman and Jesus is not
made explicit in Mark’s account. Golijov’s aria, however, not only provides a much-needed
respite in dramatic pacing, but also captures the contrast of this anonymous woman with the
disciples, particularly the one whom Golijov focuses on next: the one who betrayed Jesus.

173
Nos. 21, 28, 29, 31 all explore this theme.

68
No. 10: El Primer Día (The First Day)
JUDAS
Era el primer día de la fiesta de la matza, y
sacrificaban el cordero pascual.

APÓSTOLES
¿No seré yo? ¿Acaso seré yo?

JUDAS
It was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread,
when they sacrificed the paschal lamb.

APOSTLES
Will it be I? Will it, perhaps, be I?

Golijov again shifts scenes through a change in percussion ensemble, this time
introducing the cajón and the udu. The next three movements comprise the “Judas cycle”
focusing on Judas Iscariot, his plotting of betraying Jesus with the religious authorities, and
Jesus’ prediction thereof. Golijov often uses timestamps to set the stage for each new cycle.
Here, Golijov uses Mark 14:12 in which Mark specifies that the following actions happened on
the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. The only issue is that in Mark’s account,
Judas is reported to have gone to the chief priests before this (14:10-11), such that by the time of
the first day of the feast Judas had already been looking for an opportunity to betray him.
Golijov rearranges the material and instead puts Judas going to the chief priests after Mark
announces the first day of the feast. There are several possible reasons for this. First, given that
Golijov will sometimes rearrange or add to Mark’s account for dramatic purposes (see
commentary on No. 11/12 in which Golijov adds a significant amount of narrative detail
regarding Judas), it seems that he wanted to emphasize the proximity of Judas’ plotting with the
religious authorities to the intimate partaking of a meal with Jesus, heightening both the drama of
the plot as well as the relational dissonance between them.
Another option pertains to how Golijov wishes to interpret symbolism of the sacrifice of
the paschal lamb. While there seems to be some debate, commentators suggest that what is
commonly known as the Last Supper was indeed a Passover Seder, or at least Mark understood it

69
to be so.
174
At the time of Mark’s Gospel, the Passover festival recalled Israel’s Exodus from
Egypt, and included the slaughtering of the Passover lamb the afternoon before the Passover
Seder.
175
The imagery of the Passover lamb has often been applied to Jesus’ sacrificial death by
many Christians.
176
As such, the betrayal of Judas unwittingly plays into Jesus’ sacrificial death
for the world. Golijov seems to be hinting at this association in several ways. First, the
rearrangement of this timestamp referencing the sacrifice of the Passover lamb is included with
the Judas cycle. Second, Golijov’s orchestration of low strings playing colla parte (albeit this
time in tenths) with the vocal line foreshadows the trial before Pilate (No. 27: “Amanecer: Ante
Pilato”). Finally, a brief inclusion of the disciples’ subsequent chorus “¿No seré yo?” suggests
the guilt of the betrayer. In any case, Golijov sets the stage for Judas’ betrayal in the context of
the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. The betrayal, as well as Jesus’ death, will have a greater
meaning than anyone in the story can understand.
In his interview with David Harrington, Golijov shares that his use of flamenco
represents the colonization of Spain in Latin America, and thus in the Passion account,
corresponds with the occupying Romans, and more largely, it seems, with the enemies of
Jesus.
177
Some detect hints at flamenco already in this movement with Golijov’s use of the
phrygian mode, a common mode in Flamenco.
178
While that association is not certain here, it
will become explicit in Judas’ aria (No. 13: “Quisiera Yo Renegar”).

174
Lane, 497 arguing for the former and Hooker, 336 for the latter.

175
Marcus, 944.

176
Many, however, wish to differentiate between the killing of the Passover Lamb with those animals sacrificed for
sin offerings prescribed in the Mosaic law.

177
Harrington, 45.

178
Israel J. Kats, “Flamenco,” Grove Music Online, January 20, 2001, Accessed February 18, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.09780.

70
No. 11/12: Judas y El Cordero Pascual (Judas and The Paschal Lamb)
MARCOS
Judas el Iscariote, uno de los doce, (fue quien) lo
traicionó. Él fue a ver a los jefes de los sacerdotes para
la ocasión.

APÓSTOLES
¿No seré yo? ¿Acaso seré yo?

MARCOS
Los jefes se alegraron y prometieron darle dinero.
Iscariote volvió, la cena preparó, y se sentó a la mesa,
junto con todos, comió el cordero.

APÓSTOLES
¿No seré yo? ¿Acaso seré yo?/¡Yo no soy traidor!

MARCOS
Jesús estaba en la mesa. Jesús mojaba el pan junto a los
doce, y les habló:

JESÚS
Yo de verdad les digo que uno de ustedes es (aquí está)
el traidor. Es uno de los doce que está conmigo mojando
el pan.

MARCOS
Así es como está escrito: así el hijo del hombre se va

TRES MUJERES/MARCOS
¡Ay, ay, ay, pobre traidor! Mejor para él si no nació.

MARK
And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, was to betray
him. He sought out the high priests for this purpose.

APOSTLES
Will it be I? Will it, perhaps be I?

MARK
And when they heard it, they were glad, and
promised to give him money. Iscariot returned and
prepared the supper and he sat at table and along with
the rest ate he the lamb.

APOSTLES
Will it be I? I am not the betrayer!

MARK
Jesus was at table. Jesus dipped the bread with the
twelve, and said to them:

JESUS
Verily I say unto you: one of you shall betray me. It
is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish.

MARK
As it is written of him: the Son of man indeed goeth.

THREE WOMEN/MARK
Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is
betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had never
been born.
The second of the “murmuring” choruses, “Judas y El Cordero Pascual” depicts the
interaction between Jesus and his disciples as he predicts his impending betrayal. Here, Golijov
utilizes the Son, a Cuban genre with numerous sub-genres and wide influence on others,
including Salsa.
179
In contrast to “¿Por qué?,” it is the narrative of Mark and the words of Jesus
that drives the drama forward, with the disciples’ constant refrain punctuating throughout. As

179
In his semiotic analysis of Golijov’s La Pasión, Clavere argues that the referential meaning of the son is
generally social and racial unity, which, when combined with the disunity found at the narrative level, creates a
sense of irony. Javier Clavere, “Semiotic Analysis of Osvaldo Golijov’s Musical Setting of the Passion Narrative in
‘La Pasión según San Marcos,’” M.M. Thesis, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, 2008, 47.

71
noted above, Golijov intentionally adds to Mark’s narrative account for this movement (Table
3.2). It is likely that Golijov added the additional narrative to make explicit Judas dipping the
bread with the twelve and Jesus (14:20), as well as to make it seem that Judas’ plotting with the
religious authorities was immediately followed by his sharing the Passover Seder with Jesus.
Table 3.2 : Mark 14:10-21 including Golijov’s additions and omissions
[bracketed verses omitted by Golijov]
Italics added by Golijov

10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to
betray him to them. 11 When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to
give him money. [So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.]

12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed

12b [his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the
Passover?” 13 So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of
water will meet you; follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher
asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a
large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” 16 So the disciples set out and
went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. 17 When
it was evening, he came with the twelve.] 18 [And when they had taken their places and were eating]

Iscariot returned and prepared the supper and he sat at table and along with the rest ate
he the lamb. Jesus was at table. Jesus dipped the bread with the twelve, and said to them:

18b [Jesus said] “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”
[19 They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another,] “Surely, not I? I am not the
betrayer!” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the
bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by
whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been
born.”

Some critics have complained that use of genres like the Son trivializes the solemnity of
the Passion narrative.
180
Aside from the problematic genre assumptions embedded in these

180
This is particularly leveled at Golijov’s use of Samba in portions of La Pasión that relate to the crucifixion.
Admittedly, one wonders whether these critics who are likely less familiar with the broader context and range of
meaning found in Latin American so-called “popular” genres might be speaking more out of the limits of their
cultural biases. See discussion on No. 30 as well as Susan McClary’s comment on Bach’s use of “popular” genres in
his Passion settings. Susan McClary, “More Pomo than thou: The Status of cultural meanings in music,” New
Formations; Spring 2009, 33.

72
statements, this also neglects the fact that Jesus’ horrifying prediction takes place in the context
of a festive meal of joyous remembrance, which would have made his pronouncement all the
more shocking to the disciples.
181
Many commentators have argued that Jesus’ words, as before,
borrow language from the Hebrew Scriptures, this time from Psalm 41:9.
182

“Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.”

The reference to one who has shared a meal with the psalmist only emphasizes the depth
of the betrayal. However, as is often the case, Jesus’ allusion to Psalm 41:9 likely implies the
context of the rest of the psalm, in which the LORD remains faithful to the Psalmist and the
betrayer is justly repaid.
183
As such, Jesus' prediction could also be understood as affirming a
theme found throughout Mark’s narrative, that greater forces are at work than his disciples or
opponents are aware of.
Similar to No. 8: “¿Por qué?,” the chorus brings the existential questions suggested by the
drama to the forefront. Now the accusation has been turned on the disciples. Instead of bursting
out in indignation, the chorus is now hushed and horrified. Marcus notes that the Greek word
used to introduce their question suggests that each considers himself an unlikely candidate,
translating their question as “It’s not me, is it?”
184
Golijov’s “¿No seré yo?” which is translated
as “Will it be I?” by contrast, seems to entertain the real possibility that the speaker might be the
guilty one, almost as one dreading their imminent fate. Thus, when compared together, the two
“murmuring” choruses illustrate in miniature the narrative arc of the disciples, particularly that of

181
Lane writes that Jesus’ prediction of his betrayal surely would have shattered the festivity of the meal. Lane, 502.

182
Yarbro Collins, 649 and Marcus, 954.

183
Psalm 41:10 continues “But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.”

184
Marcus, 950, 954. Hooker likewise translates as “surely you do not mean me?” Hooker, 335.

73
Peter: going from impulsive accusation and confidence to a horrified fear and perhaps regret.
There is an interesting comparison here with Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, which also includes
Jesus’ prediction at the Last Supper. After the chorus voices the disciples’ “Lord, is it I?” Bach
inserts the chorale “Ich bin's, ich sollte büßen,” (I am the one, I should pay for this”). For Bach,
the disciples’ self-reflection on their guilt should be the posture of the penitent congregation,
who thus are in need of Jesus’ sacrificial atoning death. Golijov is certainly not so didactic; for
him, it is enough to portray the existential horror in the moment. Then, departing quite
significantly from Bach, Golijov finishes the cycle with an aria from the perspective of Judas
himself.

No. 13: Quisiera Yo Renegar (Aria de Judas)
I wish to forswear (Aria of Judas)

JUDAS
¡Ah! Quisiera yo renegar de este mundo por entero,
volver de nuevo a habitar, ¡mare de mi corazón! Por
ver si en un mundo nuevo encontraba más verdad.

JUDAS
I wish to forswear this world completely and return
again to live, mother of my heart! To see whether in a
new world I could find more truth.

Similar to the silent woman’s cycle, Judas also ends his cycle with an aria. Golijov borrows the
text and melody of a petenera originally performed and recorded by acclaimed flamenco singer
Pastora Pavón Cruz, known as La Niña de los Peines. As mentioned in the commentary for No.
10: “El Primer Día”, Golijov explains that he associates flamenco with Spanish colonial rule, and
thus parallels the Roman occupiers. Certainly, neither Judas nor the religious authorities with
whom he is plotting are Romans, so likely Golijov intends this designation to more broadly
include all of Jesus’ opponents. Of course, in response to the accusations of the religious
authorities, it will be Roman governing authority, through the decree of Pontius Pilate, that will
eventually condemn Jesus to be crucified.

74
Mark’s Gospel does not explicitly explain the reason for Judas’ betrayal. Matthew and
John point to Judas’ greed, while Luke and John both present him as under the power of the
devil.
185
Mark, by contrast, seems intentionally vague, perhaps to emphasize divine purpose at
work. Hooker writes that “Mark shows no interest in the traitor’s motives: they are unimportant
since Judas is – unwittingly – part of the divine plan.”
186
Marcus adds there is a parallel in syntax
in 14:11b with the plotting of the religious leaders in 14:1 suggesting not only that Judas’
corruption is so complete that “his will has blended with that of Jesus’ enemies,” but also that
“there is another superhuman purpose at work shaping events for its own ends.”
187

While this was likely not Mark’s purpose, the emphasis on divine orchestration
unbeknownst to Judas raises a host of questions, whether regarding the philosophical debate
about free will and determinism, or more specifically how we should understand Judas’ character
in a literary sense. A more postmodern lens that seeks to look past the traditional villainized role
for Judas might instead consider him a tragic character, doomed by forces beyond his control.
Golijov’s aria, while not explicitly stating Judas’ motivations for his actions, nonetheless
reimagines his psychological state at this point in the story. The singer’s lament is remarkably
complex, filled with a sense of both resignation and resilience. Yet, an existential anger is
unmistakably present; the string parts are marked “with contained rage.”
188
Does Golijov’s
Judas regret his betrayal? Or has he become disillusioned with Jesus and his message? At the
very least, Golijov’s willingness to ponder the subjectivity of Judas’ character reflects the

185
Regarding greed, see Matt. 26:14-16 and John 12:4-6; for influence of the devil, see Luke 22:3 and John 13:2,27.
Yarbro Collins, 644.

186
Hooker, 331.
187
Marcus, 943.

188
Osvaldo Golijov, La Pasión según San Marcos, 120.

75
complex role individuals might play in an unjust system. Perhaps Golijov’s Judas represents the
complicated way in which the oppressed can contribute to their own oppression, and that there is
often no clear distinction between oppressed and oppressor.
Regardless, by the time we hear from Judas again (No. 20: “Arresto”), he seems to have
been fully given over to his plans to betray Jesus. Once the deed is done, we will never hear from
him again in Mark’s account nor in Golijov’s Passion. Judas is not the main focus of the Passion
narrative, and certainly Golijov does not seem to be going so far as to paint him as an innocent
victim. Nonetheless, humanity is often complicated, and the narratives we often tell about
ourselves and our society might overlook the subjective experiences of those we deem enemies.

76
CHAPTER 4: EUCHARIST AND HYMN (NOS. 14-15)
With Jesus and his disciples at table, narrative time slows. While the heated dispute and
the foreboding betrayal still linger, Golijov paints an intimate scene with Jesus and his disciples.
Yet there is something otherworldly here, or at least radically out of context, as Golijov
juxtaposes genres separated by centuries and seemingly opposite contexts. All this, however,
suggests a scene that is timeless, insulated from both the prior bitterness, and the danger to come.
Golijov’s use of disparate genres connects these scenes in the Passion account with past
and future. In No. 14: “Eucaristía,” Gregorian chant, at least from the perspective of modern
audiences, evokes rituals of the timeless past, yet the text yearns for the kingdom to come. No.
15: “Demos Gracias al Señor,” on the other hand, uses a twentieth-century protest song from
Latin America to convey text from the Hallel Psalms, which recall Israel’s liberation from Egypt.
Common to both of these movements, however, is a clear eschatological focus.
189
Justo
González notes that an emphasis on eschatology is a key component in Hispanic theology.
While not writing from an explicitly liberation theology position, González nonetheless describes
a Hispanic theology perspective as bringing eschatological hope, vision, and judgment to
contemporary political realities. While the term “mañana” is often used pejoratively against
Hispanics, González reappropriates it to instead embody both eschatological expectation as well
as a radical questioning of today.
Mañana is most often the discouraged response of those who have learned, through long
and bitter experience, that the results of their efforts seldom bring about much benefit to
them or to their loved ones. In a sense, mañana is the response of farm workers who
realize that no matter how hard they work, most of their income will end up back in the
hands of the employer; or of the tenement dweller in New York who knows that efforts to

189
In Christian theology, eschatology concerns what many call “the last things” or “the end times.” More
appropriate for the theologians cited here, an eschatological hope looks forward to the consummation of the
Kingdom of God on earth.

77
improve living conditions will most likely be erased by slum lords, drug traffickers, and
even city ordinances.
190

Furthermore, a mañana vision of Scripture confesses that “the world will not always be
as it is. It will not even be an outgrowth of what is. God who created the world in the first place
is about to do a new thing — a thing as great and as surprising as that first act of creation.”
191

Christianity’s hope in spite of, as well as struggle against, current realities, particularly unjust
ones, thus embody the eschatological hope of mañana, and it is this hope that we see in
particular focus in these next two movements.

No. 14: Eucaristía (The Eucharist)

There is a constellation of questions and debates relating to the Last Supper, and Mark’s
account in particular. Was the meal actually a Passover Seder?
192
How does it line up with other

190
Justo Gonzalez, Mañana: Christian Theology from a Hispanic Perspective, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1990), 164.

191
González, Mañana, 164.

192
Marcus, citing Jeremias, the blessing and breaking of bread in the middle, unusual for a normal meal, could
suggest a Passover Seder, but this is not conclusive. Joel Marcus, Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and
MARCOS (MUJERES)
Así Jesús tomó el pan y lo bendijo, y lo partió, se los dio
y les dijo:

JESÚS
He aquí: este es mi cuerpo

MARCOS (MUJERES)
Jesús tomó el vino, dio las gracias y lo bebió, lo
compartió, se los dio y les dijo:

JESÚS
He aquí: este es mi sangre derramada por muchos.

JESÚS/MARCOS (MUJERES)
De verdad les digo que ya no beberé del fruto de la vid
hasta el día en que beba el vino nuevo en el reino de
Dios.

MARK (WOMEN)
Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to
them, and said:

JESUS
Take, eat: this is my body

MARK (WOMEN)
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave
it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said to them:
1

JESUS
This is my blood, which is shed for many

JESUS/MARK (WOMEN)
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the
vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of
God.

78
traditions, not only the other Gospels, but also Paul’s account in 1 Corinthians 1:23-26? For
Mark’s account, what parts are from the earliest traditions, and what parts might have been
added?
193
Did Mark intend this meal as a liturgical example to be followed, or simply the
symbolic appropriation of the meal to interpret his death before it occurred?
194
Finally, there is
the centuries-old eucharistic debate between whether the bread and wine are metaphysically
identical with the body and blood of Christ.
195
While acknowledging these important discussions,
this commentary will take Mark’s account at face value as well as assume a Passover Seder
framework.
It is necessary to understand the multiple layers of meaning behind the elements, both in
what they signified in the context of the Passover Seder, as well as how Jesus used them to
interpret his own life and impending death. The Passover Seder used the elements of the meal to
help participants remember events by symbolically reliving them.
196
The bread used in the Seder
was flat, unleavened cakes, known commonly today as matzah. This type of bread, normally
eaten by slaves and the poor, was thus associated with poverty and affliction. Nonetheless, it also
recalled Israel’s Exodus from Egypt when the people had to leave so quickly that their bread did

Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002, 2009), 956. Hooker argues that while the evidence
is not certain the meal was indeed a Passover Seder, it is clear that Mark understood it as such. Hooker, 336.

193
Hooker, for instance, argues that “this is my blood” seems so unlikely given the Jewish revulsion toward
drinking blood that it must have been added for liturgical purposes to match the words about the bread. Hooker, 342.

194
Marcus suggests the former, while Yarbro Collins argues for the latter. Marcus, 966 and Adela Yarbro Collins,
Mark: A Commentary. Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
2007), 654-656.

195
For some commentators’ opinions on this contentious debate from an exegetical standpoint, see Hooker, 341,
Yarbro Collin, 655, and Marcus, 965

196
Marcus, 965.

79
not have time to rise.
197
Thus a symbol of affliction became a symbol of liberation. Jesus, then,
further reinterprets the bread as his “body.” While Luke’s addition of “given for you” has been
traditionally understood as predicting the sacrificial giving of his body in his atoning death,
Mark’s account does not include these additional words.
198
Instead, Lane suggests that this is a
pledge of Jesus’ personal presence with them, even in spite of his impending betrayal and death.
Hooker, on the other hand, in understanding what is translated “body” to potentially mean “self”
or “person,” suggests that the distribution of bread is perhaps signifying a sharing of personality,
authority or mission, analogous to Elijah’s actions in 1 Kings 19:19. Thus, “the distribution of
the bread and saying linked with this action suggest ideas of fellowship and joint enterprise.”
199

There seems to be a wider range of Old Testament allusions behind Jesus’ words
regarding the wine, all of which, nonetheless, suggest some sense of covenant renewal between
God and his people.
200
Most often cited by commentators is Exodus 24:8 in which Moses
splashes sacrificial blood on the Israelites at Sinai, saying “This is the blood of the covenant that
the Lord now makes with you.” Other possible Old Testament connections with the prophets
suggest atonement in both a sacrificial and liberating sense (e.g. Isaiah 53:12 and Zechariah 9:11
respectively).
201
Finally, Lane also makes an eschatological connection with Jeremiah 31:31-33,

197
Deuteronomy 16:3 explains this double meaning: “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it—the
bread of affliction—because you came out of the land of Egypt in great haste, so that all the days of your life you
may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt.”

198
Luke 22:19 “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Likewise, Paul’s account
“This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24. For the latter passage, the
NRSV includes a footnote “Other ancient authorities read is broken for [you].”

199
Hooker, 341.

200
Yarbro Collins, 656, Lane, 507.

201
Marcus, 966-967.

80
in which God promises a new covenant with his people in the last days, in spite of their
rebellion.
202
Jesus’ closing words, saying he will not drink of the vine again until he drinks it
new in the kingdom of God, are both a sobering reminder of his impending departure and death,
as well as a firm hope in God’s eschatological redemption.
203

As such there is a wide range of meanings latent in this passage, and no one composer
can highlight them all. Golijov’s austere setting suggests a private, intimate scene, an interlude in
the midst of a fast-paced narrative. While the scene at Bethany erupted into contention and
disunity, here Jesus partakes in a meal with his disciples and indeed shares himself with them.
While the mood is still somber from his recent foretelling of his betrayal, there are no disputes
(not yet, at least) from his disciples; they are, at least for the moment, unified, both musically and
in spirit. Golijov’s allusion to Gregorian chant suggests the celebration of the Eucharist in a
medieval Mass, an explicit evocation of ritual. Of course, here the powerful embodiment of
meaning comes in what is not present. Like in a Mass, Jesus’ moment with his disciples seems a
moment frozen in time; the plotting opponents, the bickering of the disciples, and even the
betrayal of Judas, can all be forgotten. Indeed, even the music goes “out of time,” forsaking any
sense of regular meter. All focus is on Jesus’ actions, and his words, promise, and presence
comforts and unifies his people.
Golijov’s handling of the final phrase “en el reino de Dios” [“in the kingdom of God.”]
deserves particular attention (see Example 4.1). By this time, the chant has been sung three
times, more or less in its melodic entirety, with some variation. For this final phrase, Golijov
repeats the head motive, but does not complete the first complete phrase. While the phrase has

202
Lane, 507.

203
Yarbro Collins, 657 and Lane, 508.

81
typically come to rest on B, Golijov prematurely ends the line on E. This “incomplete” line is
then repeated three more times by the choir, the most any line has thus been emphasized.
204
The
“yearning” of this incomplete, yet repeated line suggests the eschatological longing of Jesus and
his disciples, indeed for the realization of the kingdom of God that Jesus is foretelling. Jesus
completes the line, bringing it to rest at the expected B, but not without adding a note outside the
mode that strikes like an unexpected wound. Jesus will indeed bring about the kingdom of God,
but in a completely unexpected way. It is through suffering, sacrifice and his death that the
longed-for kingdom will be accomplished, as opposed to the triumph by force likely expected by
his disciples. Golijov’s ending thus captures well the eucharistic themes of presence, sacrifice,
and eschatological hope.
Example 4.1: No. 6: “Eucaristía” (a) Head Motive, (b) Incomplete Line, and (c) final line
with added C
(a) (b) (c)

204
Notably, the only line previously repeated was the word “derramada” [“shed” or “poured out”] perhaps
emphasizing the traditional interpretation of Jesus’ sacrificial death.

82
No. 15: Demos Gracias Al Señor (We Give Thanks unto the Lord)

CORO
Demos gracias al Señor, que su amor es eterno.
Demos gracias al Señor y alabemos su nombre,
cantemos al Señor que su amor es eterno. Él es el
Salvador.

Aunque tiemble la tierra demos gracias al Señor, que
su amor es eterno. El es Salvador, él reina allá en lo
alto.

Cuando viene la muerte y me enreda en sus lazos,
cuando me hallo preso de miedo y dolor y la angustia
me alcanza yo te canto (le doy gracias) al Señor. El
amor es él.

Tiembla, tiembla, tierra...Te damos gracias al Señor.

Porque aunque tiemble la tierra y muerte viene a
buscarme, yo te canto, Señor. ¡Alabemos al Señor!
Cantamos, alabamos, te damos gracias, Señor.

CHORUS
We give thanks unto the Lord; because his mercy
endureth forever. We give thanks to the Lord and
glorify his name. Praise we the Lord, whose
goodness is eternal. He is the Savior

Even while the earth trembles give thanks to the
Lord, for his goodness is eternal. He is the Savior that
reigns in Heaven.

When death comes and captures me, and I am held in
its noose, when I am a prisoner of fear and pain and
anguish touches me I sing (give thanks) to the Lord.
He is love.

Tremble, Tremble, earth...We give thanks to the Lord

For though the earth trembles and death comes to
find me I sing to the Lord and give praise to the Lord.
We give thanks, O Lord.

Following the Lord’s supper, Mark 14:26 briefly notes that Jesus and his disciples sang a
hymn before going out to the Mount of Olives. Assuming a Passover Seder interpretation, many
suggest that this hymn would have consisted of the last four psalms of the Hallel Psalms (113-
118), with the first two already having been sung before the meal.
205
While only Psalm 114
directly speaks to the Exodus, Kidner notes that “the theme of raising the downtrodden (113) and
the note of corporate praise (115), personal thanksgiving (116), world vision (117) and festal
procession (118) make it an appropriate series to mark the salvation which began in Egypt and
will spread to the nations.”
206
Marcus notes that the themes of the Hallel Psalms could be seen
as also having relevance to the Passion story: the psalmist, in fearing the nearness of death, falls
into distress and sorrow and calls on God to save his life (116:3-4), yet also trusts that God will

205
Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1975), 436. See also Marcus, 968. Yarbro Collins, on the other hand, claims that it is not certain whether the Hallel
was sung during the Passover meal during the time of Mark. Yarbro Collins, 668.

206
Kidner, 436.

83
raise the lowly from the dust (113:7) and free them from death (116:8).
207
What is a passing
reference in Mark’s account, then, was likely a shared moment of deep meaning and
foreshadowing for Jesus and his disciples.
Following the general consensus in scholarship suggesting that Mark 14:26 refers to the
Hallel Psalms, Golijov used excerpts from these psalms and composed a hymn of praise sung by
the chorus. While there is repetition of themes in the Hallel Psalms, Table 4.1 suggests different
verses in the Hallel Psalms from which the text of “Demos Gracias al Señor” could have been
derived.
Table 4.1: Possible references from Hallel Psalms (113-118) in No. 15: “Demos Gracias”
We give thanks unto the Lord; because his mercy endureth forever [118:1] We give
thanks to the Lord and glorify his name [113:2]. Praise we the Lord, whose goodness is
eternal. He is the Savior [118]
208

Even while the earth trembles [Psalm 114:7] give thanks to the Lord, for his goodness is
eternal. [again 118?] He is the Savior that reigns in Heaven [113:5-6].

When death comes and captures me, and I am held in its noose, when I am a prisoner of
fear and pain and anguish touches me I sing to the Lord [116:3-4] He is love. [1 John 4:8,
Psalm 118]
209

Tremble, Tremble, earth [114:7]...We give thanks to the Lord [118]

For though the earth trembles [114:7] and death comes to find me [116:3-4] I sing to the
Lord and give praise to the Lord. We give thanks, O Lord. [118]
210

207
Marcus, 971. Lane adds that “In the assurance that the rejected stone had been made the keystone by God’s
action, Jesus found a prophecy of his own death and exaltation...when Jesus arose to go to Gethsemane, Ps. 118 was
upon his lips. It provided an appropriate description of how God would guide his Messiah through distress and
suffering to glory.” Lane, 509.

208
Psalm 118 generally speaks of the goodness of God, his love enduring forever and his saving acts.

209
The commonly known formula “God is love” is found in the New Testament, 1 John 4:8, though again this
theme could also be derived from Psalm 118.

210
Psalm 118, as a festal procession, also emphasizes singing to the Lord.

84
Most notably, however, Golijov based the melodic material of his hymn on Victor
Heredia’s protest song, “Todavía Cantamos.” Heredia’s protest song was written in the context
of Argentina’s “Dirty War,” in which the Argentine military government initiated a horrific
campaign to crush all opposition in their own population. From 1976, when the military
overthrew the Perón government, to its own collapse in 1983, it was reported that over thirty
thousand people were made to “disappear” by the government.
211
Heredía’s chorus and first
verse is included and translated below:
Todavía cantamos, todavía pedimos,
Todavía soñamos, todavía esperamos,
A pesar de los golpes
que asestó en nuestras vidas
el ingenio del odio
desterrando al olvido
a nuestros seres queridos.

Still we sing, still we ask
Still we dream, still we hope
In spite of the blows
that life gives us
The ingenuity of hate
Banishes those whom we love into oblivion

Thematically consistent with the work as a whole, “Demos Gracias al Señor” is an
unwavering affirmation of trust even in the face of fear.
212
Similar to “Eucaristía”, the hymn
embodies this affirmation through a constellation of meanings from a wide range of contexts,
and in this case, contexts that span across centuries. With reference to both the Hallel Psalms,
and thus to Israel’s Exodus, the hymn recalls Israel’s liturgical celebration of God’s faithfulness
in their paschal remembrance of their liberation. Furthermore, the hymn also looks “forward” to

211
Joel M. Cruz, The Histories of the Latin American Church: A Handbook, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.)
110.

212
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020.

85
when Latin American Christians would protest the injustice of oppressive dictatorships. Like the
psalms, Golijov’s hymn embodies both liturgical remembrance as well as eschatological hope,
recalling God’s liberation, all while believing that liberation can again be achieved. The coda
(mm. 161-177), thus, is a tenacious cry of faith in the face of danger, distress and injustice: “For
though the earth trembles and death comes to find me I sing to the Lord and give praise to the
Lord. We give thanks, O Lord.”

86
CHAPTER 5: GETHSEMANE (NOS. 16-19)
The narrative continues as Jesus and his disciples finish the Passover Seder and depart to
the Mount of Olives. In spite of Jesus’ assurance of his enduring presence and the inauguration
of a new covenant through the symbols of the meal, the prospect of his suffering and death,
which he has long predicted, still looms. Here, the cause of his suffering will become even more
personal, involving the abandonment of his closest disciples, even Peter. The drama of this
horrifying possibility is heightened by Peter’s confident swearing of allegiance, and its
inevitability foreshadowed by his failure to stay awake while Jesus prays in agony. Thus, even
before Jesus has been “handed over” and arrested, the descent into his Passion, his suffering and
death, has already begun.
No. 16: En el Monte de los Olivos (On the Mount of Olives)
MARCOS
Después de cantar los salmos fueron al monte de los
olivos, y dijo Jesús:

JESÚS
Todos ustedes van a perder la fe en mí. Así está
escrito: mataré al pastor y se descarriarán las ovejas.
Pero yo resucitaré y a la Galilea los guiaré.

MARK
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into
the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them:

JESUS
All ye shall be offended because of me this night for
it is written: I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep
will be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go
before you into Galilee
No. 17: Cara a Cara (Face to Face)

MARCOS
Y Pedro le dijo:

PEDRO
Todos perderán la fe, yo nunca te negaré

MARCOS
Y Jesús le contestó:

JESÚS
A mí tú me negarás, tú mismo me negarás. Te digo
que esta noche a mí tú me negarás. Antes que el gallo
cante dos veces tú me vas a negar tres.

PEDRO
Yo jamás te negaré

MARK
But Peter said to him:

PETER
Although all shall be offended, I will not deny thee in
any wise.

MARK
And Jesus saith unto him:

JESUS
Thou shalt deny me, verily thou shalt deny me. I say
unto thee that this night thou shalt deny me. Before
the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice.

PETER
I will not deny thee in any wise.

87
JESÚS
Te digo que me negarás

PEDRO
Yo contigo moriré

JESÚS
...negarás

PEDRO
...moriré

JESUS
Verily I say unto thee thou shalt deny me.

PETER
I Will die with thee.

JESUS
[you will] deny me.

PETER
[I will] die.
The unaccompanied recitation of No. 16 could suggest either the quiet of night or perhaps
the somber mood of the disciples upon hearing what Jesus has predicted about his betrayal.
Nonetheless, what he will now further predict implicates not only the unknown betrayer, but the
disciples as a whole.
213
In predicting the disciples’ desertion, Jesus quotes from the Old
Testament prophet Zechariah: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”
214

Thus, Mark’s audience would have been reminded that Jesus’ impending suffering would not be
a surprise, but under the sovereign control of God.
215
Furthermore, Jesus adds, “But after I am
raised up, I will go before you to Galilee,” again predicting his resurrection.
216

Interestingly, Peter seems to ignore Jesus’ resurrection and focus entirely on the implied
indictment against him personally.
217
With characteristic self-confidence, Peter pledges his

213
Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According To St. Mark, Black's New Testament Commentaries, (New York:
Continuum, 2001), 344. As Jesus’ predictions of both his betrayal and the disciples’ desertion surround the promises
of the Eucharist, Mark has set up another structural contrast between the disciples’ failure and Jesus’ assurance in
spite of it.

214
Mark 14:27, Zechariah 13:7

215
Adela Yarbro Collins, Mark: A Commentary. Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible,
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 670.

216
Cf. Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34 for previous instances of Jesus predicting his resurrection. Mark will fulfill the phrase
“I will go before you to Galilee” with the testimony of the “young man” at the empty tomb of Jesus in Mark 16:7.
“But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been
raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead
of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’” (Mark 16:6-7 NRSV)

217
Cf. Mark 8:31-33 for another instance of Peter taking exception to Jesus’ prediction of his own suffering, death,
and resurrection. Yarbro Collins makes the interesting point that while Peter in 8:32-33 refused to accept that the

88
unfailing loyalty, even if the other disciples should fail.
218
What follows is a heated back and
forth between Jesus and Peter, one that Golijov highlights musically.
219
The entrance of the Batá
drums suggests a lively exchange. Interestingly, Golijov chooses to give the dialogue of both
Peter and Jesus (differentiated in the libretto) to the same singer. Nonetheless, the singer is
instructed to emphasize the two characters by turning in different directions and gesturing as if
engaging someone else. Again, this suggests Golijov’s ritualistic preference for embodied
gestures over explicit description. The growing intensity of the dialogue is highlighted by the
shift in the Batá rhythmic structure at m. 36.
Jesus, in turn, responds to Peter’s claim with yet another prediction, this time with
searing specificity, of his own triple denial. Marcus notes that in Mark’s account, Jesus
underlines the inevitability of Peter’s denial by employing a thrice emphasized time designation:
“Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three
times.”
220
Golijov’s retelling, while not as succinct, instead achieves this rhetorical intensity by
emphatic repetition. Indeed, some form of “tú me negaras” [“you will deny me”] is stated twelve
times.
221

Messiah must suffer, now at least he acknowledges this, but believes that he must therefore die with him. Yarbro
Collins, 671. See also Joel Marcus, Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2002, 2009), 973.

218
Marcus notes Mark’s consistent use of the word “all,” which links Peter with the disciples. Peter, of course,
refuses to accept his fate as one of the “all.” Marcus, 973. A similar attitude claiming exceptional status can be
found in James and John in Mark 10:35-45.

219
Gundry colorfully labels this section “A Contest of Predictive Ability: Jesus verses Peter and the Twelve” Robert
Gundry, Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 844.
220
Mark 14:30. Notably, Matthew and Luke retain the triple denial, but refer to a single cock crow (Matt. 26:34,
Luke 22:34) Yarbro Collins notes that Mark’s formulation probably seemed too complicated and was simplified.
However, “the complexity and concreteness of the prediction in Mark, however, give it vividness and
verisimilitude.” Yarbro Collins, 672.

221
Note, however, the thrice repeated “negarás” at the end of the movement (mm.50-52) which could mirror both
Mark’s triple emphasis as well as Peter’s three denials.

89
While Peter’s last words of the movement “moriré” [“I will die”] are echoed by the other
disciples in Mark’s account, it seems Golijov wishes to specifically focus on the relational drama
between Jesus and Peter.
222
This relational dynamic will be particularly highlighted when Jesus
addresses Peter in the garden (No. 19: “Agonía”) as well as Peter’s denial and subsequent aria
(No. 24: “Escarnio y Negación and No. 26: “Lúa descolorida”).
No. 18: En Getsemaní (In Gethsemane)
MARCOS (MUJERES)
Fueron de ahí a Getsemaní; dijo Jesús:

JESÚS
Mi alma está triste, es la muerte. ¡Velen!

MARK (WOMEN)
And they went from there to Gethsemane; and Jesus
said:

JESUS
My soul is troubled unto death. Watch!

No. 19: Agonía (Aria de Jesús) Agony (Aria of Jesus)

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
Abba, abba, abba…Aparta el cáliz de mi, apártalo de
mí.

MARCOS (CORO 1)
Él volvió y dormían, y llamó a Pedro:

JESÚS (SOLO 2 & CORO 1)
¡Simón! ¿Duermes? ¿Siquiera una hora pudiste
velar?

CORO 2
Si al anochecer, a medianoche, al canto del gallo o a
la mañana.

JESÚS (SOLO 3)
Despiértense…

JESÚS (SOLO 2)
El alma quiere la verdad, pero la carne es débil.

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
Abba, abba, abba…Aparta el cáliz de mi, apártalo de
mí.

MARCOS (CORO 1)
Él volvió y dormían, los ojos cargados de sueño
tenían.

222
Mark 14:31 “But [Peter] said vehemently, “Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And all of
them said the same.”

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Abba, Father...take away this cup from me, take it
away from me.

MARK (CHORUS 1)
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith
unto Peter.

JESUS (SOLO 2 & CHORUS I)
Simon! Sleepest thou?
Couldest not thou watch one hour?

CHORUS 2
At evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning.

JESUS (SOLO 3)
Watch ye…

JESUS (SOLO 2)
The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Abba, Father, take away this cup from me, take it
away from me.

MARK (CHORUS 1)
And when he returned, he found them asleep again,
for their eyes were heavy.

90
JESÚS (SOLO 1)
Abba, abba, abba…Aparta de mí el cáliz, aparta el
cáliz, apártalo...Pero no lo que quiero yo sino lo que
Tú

JESÚS (SOLO 3)
Duerman ya, la hora llegó

CORO 2
Si al anochecer, a medianoche, al canto del gallo o a
la mañana.

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
¡Vámanos, vámanos, levántense!
¿No ven que el hijo del hombre va a ser entregado en
manos de los pecadores?
Vamos, se acerca el traidor ahí, el hijo del hombre ya
se va, sí…

JESÚS (SOLO 1), CORO 1 & 2
Ya se va el hijo del hombre…
JESUS (SOLO 1)
Abba, Father…take away this cup from me. Take
this cup, take it away...Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou wilt.

JESUS (SOLO 3)
You sleep now, the hour is come.

CHORUS 2
At evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning.

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Rise up, rise up! Behold the Son of man is betrayed
into the hands of sinners. Let us go; lo, he that
betrayeth me is at hand. The Son of man goeth.

JESUS (SOLO 1) CHORUS 1 & 2
The Son of man must indeed go...

Gethsemane is the first scene included among all the Passion 2000 settings, Bach’s St.
Matthew and St. John, and Penderecki’s St. Luke.
223
Furthermore, Raymond Brown chooses
Gethsemane as his starting place for his magisterial work on the Gospel Passion narratives.
224

While Brown acknowledges that this choice is more motivated by practicality than scholarly
consensus, he does note that understanding the Passion narrative to begin with Gethsemane fits
with an important shift that occurs here. Throughout Jesus’ ministry and even up through the
Last Supper, Jesus has generally held the initiative; in his proclamation and revelation of the

223
Brown notes that Mark and Matthew use the name Gethsemane, while Luke speaks of the Mount of Olives, and
John of a garden across the Kidron. Nonetheless, all are meant to refer to the same general locale where Jesus was
arrested. Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, 2 vols., (New York: Doubleday, 1994), 36.

224
Brown, The Death of the Messiah. It seems clear that John meant for the narrative that begins at the garden
across the Kidron and ends with Jesus’ burial in the garden tomb to be understood as a complete unit. The Synoptic
Gospels, on the other hand, are not as clearly structured. Brown also cautions against seeing the ancient division of
the Gospels into chapters as a definitive guide to structure. Brown, 37.

91
Kingdom of God, he chooses when and how he will do so. Now, Brown notes, “at least on a
visible level, others take the initiative, for the Son of Man is given over into their hands.”
225

Jesus’ suffering at the hands of others, however, comes into particular focus even before
his betrayal and arrest. In a passage that has challenged both scholars and lay readers alike,
Jesus’ agony and weakness is presented at a level that has not been seen before in the Gospel
accounts.
226
The contrast to the previous passages could not be more striking. As Marcus notes
“in 14:26-31, the Markan Jesus has forthrightly prophesied his death and resurrection one last
time, and his twelve closest followers have proclaimed their undying loyalty to him. Now,
however, in the famous Gethsemane scene, both Jesus’ resolve and theirs seem to crumble.”
While other Passion settings either present the scene in a straightforward manner, or in Bach’s
case, comment extensively on Jesus as a positive example of submitting to the Father’s will,
227

Golijov directly and unapologetically engages the existential angst of Jesus in a powerful aria
that embodies the drama and premise of his entire Passion.
228

Before the aria, Jesus states, “My soul is troubled unto death,” which echoes language
from both Psalms 6 and 42/43.
229
In the Biblical account, Marcus notes a remarkable shift in

225
Brown, 37. Of course, it could be argued John’s account is the exception that proves the rule, uniquely
portraying Jesus’ initiative and agency even while being betrayed.

226
Again, John’s garden account is the notable exception to this portrayal.

227
See Bach, St. Matthew Passion Nos. 22, 23, 25. Rihm and Tan describe the Garden scene in a relatively
straightforward manner. The John settings, as noted, are completely different in content. Penderecki comes the
closest to providing commentary from the perspective of Jesus, including two arias composed of various verses from
the Psalms, in which the psalmist both cries out to God in distress, as well as affirms his hope in God. See
Penderecki’s arias for baritone and soprano from Figures 3-4 in the score, using Psalms 22:1-2; 5:1;15:1;4:8;16:9.

228
Golijov commented that along with the ending, No. 19 “Agonía” is among his favorite parts of La Pasión.
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020.

229
Cf. Psalm 6:3 “My soul also is struck with terror, while you, O Lord—how long?” and Psalm 42:5 “Why are you
cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?” Most commentators suggest that Psalms 42 and 43
should be considered a single, unified poem. Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction and Commentary,
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 182.

92
language in the verse before: “...and [Jesus] began to be overwhelmed and anxious” (Mark
14:33b).
230
While the uniquely Markan term “to be overwhelmed” is generally used to portray
Jesus overwhelming others, such as by the divine power manifested in his words (10:24) and his
healing miracles (1:27), now the term is applied to Jesus, and he himself is overwhelmed.
231
This
resonates with Brown’s statements above about the shift of initiative away from Jesus in the
Passion account. While not included in Golijov’s libretto, Brown also notes a structural
progression toward isolation as Jesus moves away from his disciples to pray.
232
The stage is set
for Jesus’ expression of agonía, separated from his disciples and even, it seems, from his
Heavenly Father.
Jesus’ address to God, “Abba,” Aramaic for “father,” serves as a distinctive head motive
for No. 19 “Agonía”
233
(Example 5.1). The motive reappears in several different keys throughout
the aria, a harmonic journey that could suggest a constantly shifting and perhaps tumultuous
emotional state. Nonetheless, each time the theme eventually makes its way back to E minor.
Here, Golijov musically embodies a key tension in Christian petitionary prayer: the desire for
deliverance or a favorable answer, juxtaposed with a submission to the sovereign will of God.

230
Marcus’ translation. Marcus, 974.

231
See Marcus, 983, for his treatment of the term “ekthambeisthai.”

232
Brown, 202-203.

233
Many have claimed that “Abba” is a child’s word, suggesting an intimacy between Jesus and his Heavenly
Father that was unique in the prayer language of contemporary Judaism. (Marcus, 978, quoting Hahn and Jeremias).
Marcus and others note, however, other times when the title is used by grown men and could even be a formal term
for “father.” (Marcus, 978.) Nonetheless, the address seems to be unique; Brown, quoting Fitzmyer, states that
scholars have not found evidence for any pre-Christian use of “abba” by an individual addressing God (Brown, 173).
Thus, Mark might simply have included it as a unique feature of Jesus’ usual way of praying (Hooker, 348).

93
Example 5.1: Head motive in No. 19: “Agonía” (mm. 11-12)

An additional musical feature employed by Golijov to suggest despair and sorrow is the
frequent use of slowly descending lines, whether in the bass (e.g. mm. 20-24, 32-35, 109-111) or
in the vocal line itself (e.g. mm. 80-88). In fact, most of the aria consists of descending lines,
contrasting with the rising lines of the approaching mob coming to arrest Jesus (mm. 40-63, 113-
128). The most striking rhetorical contrast, however, occurs at m. 129 when Jesus resolves to
move forward in full submission to the path of suffering ahead. The singer dramatically rises
through most of her vocal range, with pulsing string harmonics building over a pedal in the bass.
But the aria ends in sorrow, as Golijov poignantly repurposes material to embody the
transformation that has occurred: a line that once carried the petition for deliverance now
becomes one of resignation and sorrow (Example 5.2).

94
Example 5.2: Comparison in No. 19: “Agonía” of (a) mm. 20-21 and (b) mm. 146-147
(a)

(b)

Interspersed throughout the scene in the Garden are two reappearances of musical
material from No. 3 “Primer Anuncio” (mm. 58-79). As purely musical material, these sections
could suggest the approaching mobs coming with Judas to arrest Jesus. Interestingly, however,
Golijov keeps the text from Mark 13:35, words by Jesus himself warning his disciples of the
sudden and unexpected coming of the kingdom of God (see commentary on No. 3). Thus, the
approaching arrest and suffering of Jesus takes on greater eschatological meaning than is initially
apparent. In fact, Marcus suggests that Mark has deliberately shaped the Gethsemane narrative
to echo the eschatological prophecies in 13:32-37.
234
Jesus warns his disciples to stay awake lest
the master come and find them sleeping (13:35-37), yet the disciples fail to keep watch.
235
It
seems the eschatological fulfillment of Jesus’ words have indeed arrived, but not in a form any

234
Marcus, 976.

235
Marcus, 987-988.

95
of his disciples would have expected. Instead of the triumphant call of the approaching master,
what is instead heard in Gethsemane are the anguished cries of the suffering messiah.
The suffering of Jesus in Gethsemane has troubled readers for centuries. Celsus, a second
century critic of Christianity, believed Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer was proof that he could not
have been divine.
236
Brown writes how subsequent Gospel writers softened Mark’s portrait of
Jesus’ distress,
237
and Marcus also notes similar trends among later Christian writers.
238
In an
interview, Golijov himself remarked Jesus seemed to have a “dual identity.” “Sometimes he’s
just a scared man and sometimes he’s God. And sometimes he’s angry. There are a lot of
emotions that he goes through; sometimes he loses faith and sometimes he’s magnificent.”
239

Like Golijov, scholars today find it perplexing, if not impossible, that Jesus, after having just
acknowledged these things must happen, would nonetheless pray that it would pass.
240
On the
contrary, Brown notes the Old Testament precedent of those who asked God for a change of
mind, and yet served as examples of trust in God’s love and justice.
241
Marcus, in turn, believes
this seemingly contradictory portrayal would have had particular significance for Mark’s
audience.
When Christians feel weak and fearful at the prospect of imminent death and other
suffering — as many in the persecuted Markan community probably did — they may be
empowered by remembering that their Lord also struggled with tribulation, but thereby

236
Marcus, 986.

237
Brown, 165. For instance, Luke softens the Markan picture by having Jesus kneel as opposed to “falling to the
earth”

238
Marcus, 986, e.g. that of Origen’s interpretation of the passage.

239
Harrington, 45.

240
Brown, 166-167.

241
Brown, 166-167. Brown notes particular resonance between Gethsemane and King David’s words in 2 Samuel
15:25-26.

96
overcame the world (cf. John 16:33). Thus some interpreters have seen the portrait of
Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane as significant precisely because it shows him to be
human...and the depiction of him both seeking to avoid the cup and accepting it has often
been cited as proof that he had both a human will and a divine one...And because Jesus is
shown here to share in human weakness, he is also a model for the way in which feeble
and wavering Christians may be strengthened through the grace of God.
242

242
Marcus, 986.

97
CHAPTER 6: ARREST AND DENIAL (NOS. 20-26)
Upon Jesus’ arrest, Golijov significantly picks up the narrative pace, marching
straightaway through about thirty verses in Mark’s account in just eight minutes of music. The
turning over of Jesus to his adversaries, long predicted and expected, is finally initiated, and his
arrest, abandonment, trial before the Sanhedrin, and subsequent mistreatment all occur in rapid
succession. No. 20: “Arresto” and No. 22: “Ante Caifás” make use of similar musical material
and frame a short movement featuring a capoeira dancer and percussion. No. 23: “Soy yo” will
be highlighted on its own, featuring Jesus’ momentous claim to messianic identity. No. 24:
“Escarnio y Negación” through No. 26: “Lúa descolorida” combine the pathos of Jesus being
both mocked by the Sanhedrin and denied by one of his closest associates.
Marcus notes that the trial scene echoes Psalm 37:32, “The wicked watch the righteous,
and seek to kill them.” At first, Jesus’ eventual condemnation and death might seem to contradict
the following verse, “The Lord will not abandon them to their power, or let them be condemned
when they are brought to trial.” Nonetheless, writes Marcus, this is the paradox of Mark’s
passion theology: “Jesus will ultimately be vindicated by God, and his enemies will see him
triumph (cf. 14:62), but this triumphal procession must pass through the way of the cross.”
243

243
Joel Marcus, Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2002, 2009), 1013.

98
No. 20: Arresto (The Arrest)

JUDAS (CORO & SOLO)
¡Al que bese, ese es!

MARCOS (SOLO 1-3)
Jesús todavía hablaba cuando Judas Iscariote, llegó
con la muchedumbre, con espadas y garrotes. Los
mandaban los escribas, los jefes de los sacerdotes.
Judas dio la señal, Maestro, dijo el traidor. Iscariote
se acercó: Maestro, dijo, y lo besó. Entonces le
echaron mano así es como lo arrestaron. Pero uno de
los que estaba reaccionó y sacó su espada, y la oreja
le cortó al criado del sacerdote.

JESÚS (SOLO 1-3)
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué vinieron ustedes? ¿Por
qué espadas y garrotes? ¿Acaso soy un ladrón?

JESÚS (CORO)
¡Ah! ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? No vinieron en el tiempo
cuando enseñaba en el templo, pero así es como está
escrito.

JUDAS (CHORUS & SOLO)
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he!

MARK (SOLO 1-3)
And while Jesus yet spake, cometh Judas, and with
him a great multitude with swords and staves. From
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Judas
gave the signal: Master, sayeth the betrayer. Judas
approached. Master, he said, and kissed him. And
they laid their lands on him, and took him. And one
of them that stood by drew a sword, and cut off the
ear of a servant of the high priest.

JESUS (SOLO 1-3)
Why? Why? Are ye come out, as against a thief, with
swords and with staves to take me?

JESUS (CHORUS)
Ah! Why? Why?
I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye
took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled.
No. 21: Danza de la Sábana Blanca (Dance of the White Sheet)

Instrumental

[Entonces todos huyeron dejando solo a Jesús. Pero
un joven lo seguía, en sábana envuelto el cuerpo, y
cuando a este lo prendieron la sábana soltó y así
desnudo se escapó.]

Instrumental

[And they all forsook him, and fled. And there
followed him a certain young man, having a linen
cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men
laid hold on him. And he left the linen cloth, and fled
from them naked.]
No. 22: Ante Caifás (Before Caiaphas)

CAIFÁS (CORO 1)
¿Es verdad que eres el Cristo, el hijo de Dios
Bendito?

MARCOS (SOLO 1-3)
Lo trajeron a Jesús a la casa de Caifás. Allí se
hallaban reunidos los ancianos y los escribas. Pedro
le iba siguiendo hasta que al patio llegó. Se sentó con
los criados junto al fuego se quedó. Toda la junta
buscaba prueba para la condena:

TESTIGOS (CORO 2)
Yo el templo destruiré y en tres días otro haré.

CAIAPHAS (CHORUS 1)
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

MARK (SOLO 1-3)
And they led Jesus to the high priest and with him
were assembled all the chief priests and the elders
and the scribes. And Peter followed him from afar
off, even into the court of the palace. And he sat with
the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. And the
chief priests and all the council sought to test the
statement:

WITNESSES (CHORUS 2)
I will destroy the temple that is made with hands, and
within three days I will build another made without
hands.

99
MARCOS (SOLO 1-4)
Buscaban y no encontraban, aunque cien testificaban.
Declararon y mintieron. Así es como lo acusaron al
decir que lo escucharon. Caifás se levantó y a Jesús le
preguntó:

CAIFÁS (CORO)
¿Es verdad que eres el Cristo el hijo de Dios
Bendito?

MARK (SOLO 1-4)
They searched and found none, even among one
hundred witnesses. They declared, and bore false
witness. For many accused him by repeating what
they had heard. And Caiaphas stood up in the midst
and asked Jesus:

CAIAPHAS (CHORUS)
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

The approaching mob coming to arrest Jesus was hinted at in the previous movement (see
No. 19: “Agonía”), but they now, explicitly and suddenly, become reality. “Jesús todavía
hablaba,” [“Jesus was still speaking”] is typical of Mark’s breathless narrative pace, yet also
hints at Jesus’ control of the situation; his words become fulfilled even while he is speaking
them.
244
Marcus notes, however, that for the rest of the Gospel account, Jesus’ words become
less and less frequent, in turn suggesting the shift of initiative away from him. On the other hand,
this also makes his rare utterances all the more striking.
245

A common technique for Golijov is to latch onto a particular spoken phrase in the libretto
that is latent with various meanings and use it as a structural centerpiece of a section.
246
In this
case, Judas’ infamous use of a kiss to identify Jesus serves to intensify the depth of the betrayal.
It seems a kiss was a common way for a disciple to greet a rabbi, though there is uncertainty in
how and where exactly this custom would play out.
247
Using a call-and-response form, the

244
Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According To St. Mark, Black's New Testament Commentaries, (New York:
Continuum, 2001), 351.

245
Marcus, 996.

246
E.g. No. 8 “¿Por qué?” and No. 11/12 “¿No seré yo?”

247
Hooker, 351 and Marcus, 997. Marcus notes that while the greeting kiss might have been particularly meaningful
in early Christian communities, as a sign of a shared membership in a new eschatological family, Judas’ kiss breaks
this deep trust and instead fulfills Jesus’ prophecy in Mark 13:12 that in eschatological crisis, brother will turn
brother over to death.

100
events of the garden arrest are quickly related with Judas’ words echoing as a refrain (Example
6.1).
Example 6.1: No. 20: “Arresto” (mm. 25-30)

This largely uniform texture is finally interrupted by Jesus’ indignant protest, a cascade
of choral entrances on “¿Por qué?” recalling the disciples’ complaints in No. 8: “¿Por qué?”. It
is not clear how significant a connection Golijov intended with this choice beyond the explicit
recurrence of “¿Por qué?;” nonetheless, when the two instances are compared in such a manner,
the disciples’ complaints over the anonymous woman’s anointing are revealed to be all the more
baseless when compared with the true injustice occurring in the garden, further vindicating her
actions.
In the Gospel account, Jesus’ words of protest accomplish several things at once. By
dissociating himself with what could have been seen as a movement plotting revolutionary
violence, Jesus also points out the absurdity of bringing an armed mob to arrest him as if he were
a robber.
248
His words also serve as an implicit rebuke on the sword wielder, as well as on any
of his followers who might consider using violent force to rescue him from the fate to which he
has willingly submitted. It is notable that after such a long stretch of relatively homogenous

248
This denouncement of violence is made more explicit in the other Synoptics, particularly in the inclusion of
Jesus’ explicit rebuke of the sword wielder (Matt. 26:52, Luke 22:51).

101
texture (mm. 17-92), Golijov finally breaks the pattern with Jesus’ words at m. 93. Marcus
writes that “his word seems to stop the chaotic action swirling around him; although already in
the hands of his enemies, he boldly exposes their duplicity and implies that he is only submitting
to them because his delivery to death is God’s will and a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy.”
249

Thus, even when bound, Jesus’ words, and as we shall see predictions, still carry force and
power. Golijov’s ending phrase of No. 20, “como está escrito” (“as it is written,” i.e. the
Scriptures), also supports this emphasis.
The following textless movement uses a capoeira dancer to represent the fleeing of the
disciples, and particularly of the mysterious figure mentioned in Mark 14:50-52. “All of them
deserted him and fled. A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen
cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.” Since the earliest
Christian interpreters, there have been a wide range of theories proposed for the purpose of this
unnamed figure who appears only in Mark.
250
Brown breaks down the various interpretations
into either treating the figure as a real, historical figure, or as primarily a symbolic
representation. For the former, hypotheses have included the figure possibly being John Mark,
the author of the Gospel, the Apostle John, and James, brother of Jesus. Theories in the latter
category have included seeing this figure as having typological connections with the young man
later seen at the empty tomb (Mark 16:5), the Old Testament patriarch Joseph who fled adultery
with his master’s wife (Genesis 39:12), or even with Jesus himself.

249
Marcus, 999.

250
Raymond Brown gives a detailed survey of the interpretation of this figure in Brown, The Death of the Messiah,
2 vols., (New York: Doubleday, 1994), 294-304.

102
Brown, in turn, argues that there is no solid evidence for any of the historical figures, and
that the symbolic category of theories do not do justice to the Markan context. “The flight of this
young man,” writes Brown, “has to be parallel to the flight of the disciples and therefore
ignominious.”
251
If anything, Brown and others find a general Old Testament connection with
the warning in Amos 2:16 where, in the moment of eschatological conflict, the most mighty
“will flee naked in that day.” Thus, the youth’s flight is simply an amplification of the disciples’
failure, but beyond that we cannot be sure. As Brown closes his discussion “it is best to practice
modesty in every sense by leaving this young man wrapped in mystery, if naught else.”
252

Regardless, Golijov picks up on the imagery of the abandoned linen cloth and, along with
connecting it to the purple robe Jesus wears while being mocked in No. 31, uses it to showcase
the Brazilian dance/martial art of capoeira, a much celebrated tradition of the Latin American
cultural landscape.
Almost identically with No. 20: “Arresto”, Golijov uses a similar call-and-response form
in No. 22: “Ante Caifás” to relate Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin. This time the refrain
emphasizes both the high priests’ questioning of Jesus’ messianic identity as well as the
accusations of those whom Mark calls false witnesses. In particular, these accusers seem to be
focused on their belief that Jesus said he would “destroy this temple that is made with hands, and
in three days...build another, not made with hands.” (Mark 14:58).
253
Lane notes that in the
Greco-Roman world, the destruction or desecration of places of worship was considered a capital

251
Brown, 303.

252
Brown, 310.

253
This charge also is reported to have been brought against Jesus in Matt. 26:61 and Acts 6:14. Interestingly, only
John records Jesus actually saying anything like this (John 2:19), though John immediately interprets this saying as
referring allegorically to his body (John 2:21-22).

103
offense.
254
Regardless, Mark’s account seems to portray this accusation as largely unsuccessful
in securing a verdict against Jesus, leading Caiaphas to stand and directly ask Jesus about his
messianic identity. In the climactic movement that follows, Jesus will break his silence,
unequivocally claiming his messianic identity and thus sealing his own condemnation.

No. 23: Soy yo (Confesión) I am (Confession)
JESÚS
Sí, soy yo, y al hijo del hombre ya verán sentado en
el trono a derecha del poder, envuelto en las nubes
del cielo viniendo.

JESUS
I Am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the
right hand of the Almighty, and coming in the clouds
of heaven.

For this crucial movement, Golijov highlights the quitiplás, bamboo stamping tubes
traditionally from regions across Venezuela.
255
Their multi-layered rhythmic patterns set in
Golijov’s driving tempo create a texture of intensity unprecedented in Golijov’s setting, all while
Jesus’ words, doubled by trumpets, soar above.
Jesus’ words might seem mysterious and opaque to modern listeners, but a first-century
Jew would have understood their significance immediately. There is some debate among
commentators about whether Jesus directly answered Caiaphas’ question in the affirmative (i.e.
“I am”, as Golijov’s libretto assumes, or indirectly by instead affirming his interrogator’s words
(i.e. “You have said that I am”).
256
Nonetheless, what follows is what Marcus calls “one of the

254
William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark. The New International Commentary on the New Testament,
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 534.

255
J. Richard Haefer, “Quitiplás,” Grove Music Online, May 25, 2016, Accessed June 10, 2020,
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2294672.

256
Hooker and Yarbro Collins argue for the former and Marcus for the latter. See Hooker, 360-361, Yarbro Collins,
704 and Marcus, 1005. While the shorter reading is attested by the majority of texts, Marcus argues that the latter
fits well with the theme of the messianic secret: “Jesus does not proclaim his messianic divine sonship but lets his
enemies announce it for him. And that they do so, even against their will, is one of the subtle signs in the Markan
passion narrative that, despite Jesus’ apparent subjection to their power, God is still in control and his victory march
ongoing.” Marcus, 1016.

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most Christologically freighted statements in the Gospel.” Jesus’ subsequent words would have
been understood to reference messianic prophecy, particularly, Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13-14,
both of which speak of messianic exaltation and triumph over his enemies. Marcus says Jesus’
identification with these messianic figures is the primary reason for the Sanhedrin’s
condemnation of him; in particular, Jesus’ use of Psalm 110 might have been seen as implicitly
placing himself on par with God.
257

The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your
footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)

I saw one like a human being
coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
that shall never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

Golijov setting aside a separate movement for these words, and indeed one with such a
distinct texture from the surrounding movements, clearly emphasizes the significance of Jesus’
words. In Golijov’s libretto, this is the first time Jesus’ explicitly affirms his messianic identity
and is also the moment that likely seals his condemnation. Interestingly, however, Golijov only
sets Jesus’ words once, and reserves the majority of the movement for the soloist to scat-sing.
While scat-singing is generally an improvisatory technique found in jazz, Golijov’s deployment,
still doubled by trumpets, does not come off as truly improvisatory, but rather simply

257
Marcus, 1008, 1017, however Hooker adds that Jesus’ affirmative reply of “I am,” might have also been
understood as blasphemous. Hooker, 360-361. Note also the charge of blasphemy in Mark’s Gospel as early as Mark
2:7 when Jesus presumes to have the authority to forgive sins.

105
emphasizing its non-discursive nature. Furthermore, the scatting comes in short, separated bursts
of repeated patterns, and does not develop in the way that improvised scat typically would.
Golijov remarked in an interview that his choice of scat-singing was intended to emphasize
Jesus’ indignation.
258
Another possible reading could be that the power of Jesus’ words is such
that they, even after only being spoken once, carry echoes of significance well beyond their time.
No. 24: Escarnio y Negación (Scorn and Denial)

[Algunos comenzaron a escupirlo, a taparle los ojos
y le decían:]

CORO 1 & 2
Oh! Él es culpable: ¡A morir, sí!

¡Jesús Cristo! Ya no puedes ver!
Profetizador, adivínanos pues quién te pego.

[Pedro estaba en el patio y llegó una de las criadas
del jefe de los sacerdotes, lo vio ye le dijo:]

CRIADA (MUJERES)
Tú también vas con el de Nazareth.

PEDRO (HOMBRES)
No, yo no.

[Y saliendo fuera del patio cantó el gallo.]

CRIADA (MUJERES)
Tú también…

PEDRO (HOMBRES)
No, yo no.

[Y el gallo cantó por segunda vez y Pedro se acordó
de lo que le dijo Jesús y lloró.]

[And some began to spit on him, and to cover his
face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him:]

CHORUS 1 & 2
He is guilty: to the death!

Jesus Christ! Thou canst not see. Prophesy, divine
who did strike thee.

[And as Peter was in the courtyard, there came one
of the maids of the high priests: And she saw him,
and said:]

MAID (WOMEN)
And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.

PETER (MEN)
No, not I.

[And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.]

MAID (WOMEN)
And thou also…

PETER (MEN)
No, not I.

[And the cock crew a second time. And Peter
remembered what Jesus had said to him, and wept.]

No. 25: Desgarro de la Túnica (Tearing of the Garment)

CORO
¡Oh, Jesús!

[Entonces el sacerdote se rasgó las vestiduras: Basta
ya que no haya más testigos, y la blasfemia ustedes
han oído. ¿Entonces qué les parece?]

258
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020.
CHORUS
Oh, Jesus!

[Then the high priest rent his raiment: it is enough,
wherefore need we more witnesses? You have heard
the blasphemy, what is your judgment?]

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No. 26: Lúa Descolorida (Aria de las lágrimas de Pedro) Colorless Moon (Aria of Peter’s
Tears)

Poema en Gallego de Rosalía de Castro

PEDRO
Lúa descolorida como cor de ouro páldio, vesme i eu
nonquixera me vises de tan alto. Ó espazo que
recorres, lévame, caladinha, nun teu raio.

Astro das almas ofas, lúa descolorida, eu bem sei que
n’alumas. Tristeza cal a miña. Vai, contalo ó teu
dono, e dille que me leve adonde habita.

Mais non lle contes nada, descolorida lúa, pois nin
neste nin noustros mundos terei fortuna. Se sabe onde
a morte tem a morada escura, dille que corpo e elama
xuntamente me leve adonde non recorden nunca, nin
no mundo em que estou nin nas alturas.

Galician poem by Rosalía de Castro

PETER
Colorless moon, like the color of pale gold: You see
me here and I wouldn’t like you to see me from the
heights above. Take me, silently, in your ray to the
space of your journey.

Star of the orphan souls, colorless moon: I know that
you do not shed light on sadness as sad as mine. Go
and tell it to your master and tell him to take me to
his place.

But don’t tell him anything, moon, colorless, because
my fate won’t change here or in other worlds. If you
know where Death has its dark mansion, tell her to
take my body and soul together to a place where I
won’t be remembered, not in this world, not in the
heights above.

The condemnation and mocking of Jesus will initiate for Golijov the use of a new genre,
samba, which, for the rest of the work, will generally be connected with those who seek Jesus’
death. While Samba is typically associated with the large Carnival parades and the escola de
Samba in Brazil, the term can also refer to a couple’s dance found across the region in both rural
and urban areas. The use of Samba to portray the angry crowds who mocked Jesus and led him
to his crucifixion has caused some criticism. As this jarring juxtaposition comes to a head
particularly in No. 30: “Comparsa al Gólgotha” through No. 32: “Crucifixón”, which relates the
march to Golgotha and Jesus’ crucifixion, this criticism will be discussed then. Nonetheless, like
in Nos. 20-22 and later in Nos. 30-32, the musical texture, thickly layered with percussion and
antiphonal choral parts, suggests the chaotic shouts of a frenzied mob, eager to do away with
Jesus.

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Jesus’ momentous claim to messianic identity results in his immediate condemnation by
those present, leading an unspecified “some” to begin to physically abuse him and mock him.
259

Many suggest that this degrading treatment might evoke words of the servant of the Lord in
Isaiah 50:6, “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the
beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.”
260
These connections with messianic texts
in the Old Testament continue to constitute a significant, even if ironic, theme in Mark’s
account: Jesus’ enemies unwittingly affirm his messianic identity, even in their denial of it. As
Marcus writes, this ironic affirmation of Jesus’ status as messiah and prophet will soon be further
confirmed by the unequivocal denial of one of his own.
In the mockers’ eyes, Jesus’ claim to be the eschatological redeemer and rebuilder of the
Temple is vitiated by his present state of helplessness and subjection to their will. For the
evangelist and biblically literate readers, however, the echoes of the Suffering Servant
passages in Isaiah 50–53 (silence before judges, spitting, slapping) may suggest that this
absorption of abuse is actually effecting the defeat of the rulers of this world. Jesus, then,
is not being vanquished but triumphing in his very humiliation. And that he is indeed a
prophet, contrary to the mockers’ sarcasm, will immediately be confirmed when Peter
denies him three times (14:66–72), just as Jesus predicted (14:30). The taunting
command that Jesus prophesy is thus another example of his enemies unwittingly
proclaiming the truth about him.
261

While Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and other settings dedicate a significant amount of
time to Peter’s denial, Golijov covers it relatively quickly, eliding it into the musical texture of
those who are mocking Jesus. In what Marcus calls an “informal trial,” Peter’s failure is
contrasted with what just transpired with Jesus. While Jesus stoutly holds to the truth in the face
of false witnesses and pays with his life, Peter denies the truth to save himself.
262
There are

259
Mark 14:64-65

260
Yarbro Collins, 707, Marcus, 1017, Hooker, 363.

261
Marcus, 1018.

262
Marcus, 1021.

108
several nuances in Mark’s account that portray the increasing depths of Peter’s apostasy with
each denial
263
; for Golijov, the fact of Peter’s denial, and thus fulfillment of Jesus’ ominous
prediction in No. 17: “Cara a Cara”, is horrifying enough. Golijov has a singer from the chorus
imitate the crowing of the rooster to simulate in real time the coming to fruition of Peter’s fate.
264

No. 25: “Desgarro de la Túnica” refers to the high priest tearing his robes upon hearing
what he believes to be blasphemy from Jesus (Mark 14:63). Yarbro Collins writes that in
Biblical and Second Temple literature, the tearing of one’s robes was generally a sign of grief.
However, there seems to have also been a practice for the high priest to tear his robes in
situations in which the honor of God was being threatened, which might be the reason in this
case.
265
Nonetheless, Golijov might have other meanings intended as well. Here, as in the case
when the rooster crows, Golijov is willing to rearrange Mark’s chronological order to suit his
dramatic purposes.
266
In the current context, the tearing of the garment occurs not upon Jesus’
claim to messianic identity, but upon hearing Peter’s final denial. As such, it is possible that
Golijov additionally saw the tearing of the garment symbolizing a tragic split in relationship that
has occurred between Jesus and the disciple who had just hours ago sworn his loyalty to the

263
For instance, Marcus notes the growing gravity of each denial: the first two are to someone of low social status
(female and enslaved) who accuses him privately, then publicly. For the last denial, Peter is confronted by a group
of bystanders, forcing him into an unequivocal decision. Marcus, 1024.

264
While Mark specifically places the rooster’s second crow “at the moment” of Peter’s third denial (Mark 14:72),
Golijov instead inserts the second crow before the final denial. This choice could have possibly been to allow for
alternation between denials and rooster crows, or perhaps to have the final denial lead attacca into the next
movement. Thus, perhaps the expression of horror in No. 25 is caused more by the denial itself then by the
fulfillment of prophecy symbolized by the second rooster crow.

265
Yarbro Collins, 705. It is notable that the high priest tore his robes, made his accusation of blasphemy, and only
then asked the council for their judgment. The small detail in Mark’s account (included in Golijov’s libretto)
enforces his portrayal that this “trial” was a travesty of justice. Yarbro Collins, 706.

266
In Mark’s account, the high priest tears his garments upon hearing Jesus’ words, and thus before both the
mocking of Jesus and Peter’s denial.

109
death. Golijov’s insertion of his own text “Oh, Jesús,” renders additional pathos to the moment,
further suggesting its reference to Peter’s denial. Whether this is an imagined cry of remorse
from Peter upon realizing his own failure (Mark 14:72) or the comment of a contemporary
observer, this sets up the lament of Peter’s subsequent aria.
Another interesting reference included by Golijov in this section can be found in the
sustained rising trumpet line. A (013) pitch-class set, this line could be heard echoing both Jesus’
vocal line in No. 23, “Sí, soy yo,'' as well as potentially in the rising bassline heard as early as
No. 2, which in turn will reappear in the closing movement, No. 34: “Kadish” (Example 6.1).
Connecting these moments of messianic identity, abandonment and death could suggest a central
theme in Mark’s account, namely that suffering is paradoxically integral to Jesus’ messianic
identity.
Example 6.2: (013) rising line throughout La Pasión
(a) No. 25: “Desgarro de la Túnica” (mm. 1-10)

(b) No. 2: “El Pescador Pescado” (mm. 1-10)

(c) No. 23: “Soy Yo” (mm. 3-8)

(d) No. 34: “Kadish” (mm. 28-41)

Brass
Low
Strings
Soloist
(Jesús)
Hombres
Coro I & II

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Peter’s denial, recounted in all four Gospels, and included in all the Passion settings thus
surveyed, embodies the failure of Jesus’ disciples to the fullest extent. Commentators note that a
significant theme in Mark’s Gospel is apostolic misunderstanding and failure.
267
While Mark’s
readers would have, in their present time, revered these men as the commissioned apostles of the
risen Lord, Mark’s relatively negative portrayal served as a reminder of human frailty, that even
the heroes of the faith struggle and are in need of Jesus’ forgiveness and guidance.
Mark’s account says that once Peter heard the cock crow a second time and remembered
Jesus’ prediction of his denial, he wept bitterly (Mark 14:72). While Bach’s St. Matthew Passion
uses this moment to expound upon Jesus’ unmerited grace and mercy, and Penderecki juxtaposes
a prayer from the Psalter, Golijov simply amplifies the sorrow of Peter, and nothing more. Using
Galician poetry by Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885), Peter’s aria becomes a general song of
despair.
268
The movement itself contains a diverse constellation of musical and literary
references,
269
but theologically speaking is relatively straightforward, allowing any audience
member to resonate with Peter’s tragic end.
270

267
E.g. Marcus, 976.
268
Lúa Descolorida was premiered in 1999 as a standalone work before the premiere of La Pasión in 2000. While
this does not negate the possibility that Golijov could have still conceived of the aria as part of the larger work from
its beginning, it potentially explains while the aria only seems to only retain a loose connection to the Passion
narrative.

269
“The song is at once a slow-motion ride on a cosmic horse, a homage to Couperin’s melismas in his Lessons of
Tenebrae, velvet bells coming from three different churches, heaven as seen once by Yeats, a death lullaby, and
ladder of Jacob’s dream.” Susan McClary, “More Pomo than thou: The Status of cultural meanings in music,” New
Formations; Spring 2009, 34.

270
Golijov understands Peter as exiting the story at this point in shame and failure. In support of this reading, Peter
does not appear again in Mark’s account, a portrayal that is quite a contrast to John’s restoration of Peter in John
21:15-23. On the other hand, contrary to this reading is the explicit inclusion of Peter’s name in Mark 16:7, as well
as the common belief that Mark’s Gospel is based on Peter’s own account of Jesus’ life, suggesting an eventual
restoration. Nonetheless, both of these additions to Peter’s portrayal are admittedly beyond Mark’s passion narrative.

111
CHAPTER 7: TRIAL, CRUCIFIXION, EPILOGUE (NOS. 27-34)
Jesus’ confrontation with the powers that be comes to a climax as he stands trial before
the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and is eventually condemned to death. For Christians, the
significance of the death of Jesus cannot be overstated. In the theological area of soteriology,
concerning the doctrine of salvation, the crucifixion is an indispensable focal point; Jesus’ death
is decisive in bringing about the salvation and redemption of humanity.
Yet Christians differ radically in seeking to describe just how Jesus’ death accomplishes
these salvific results. The word atonement describes the process of God and humanity becoming
reconciled, and different understandings of how that process took place results in various
theories of atonement. Theologian Jaroslav Pelikan finds particular resonance in Bach’s St. John
Passion with the Christus Victor atonement theory, which emphasizes the victory of Christ’s
death and resurrection on behalf of humanity over sin and death.
271
By contrast, Pelikan argues
that Bach’s St. Matthew Passion better embodies a satisfaction theory of atonement, in which the
death of Christ satisfies the justice of God, thus allowing God to forgive sin.
It is very unlikely Golijov had atonement theories, per se, in mind when he wrote La
Pasión. Nonetheless, there are some resemblances with some more recently developed thought
on atonement, particular that of theologian J. Denny Weaver. Labeling his view “narrative
Christus Victor,” Weaver specifically describes Christ’s atonement as a nonviolent, and
ultimately victorious confrontation with the powers of the world.
272
Integral to this confrontation
is how nonviolent protest, even to the point of death, unmasks the evil and injustice of the

271
Jaroslav Pelikan, Bach Among the Theologians, (Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1986), 106.

272
J. Denny Weaver, The Nonviolent Atonement, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), 7, 27.

112
powers that be. Drawing together Christ’s death to the teachings and healings of his ministry,
Weaver states:
…from a position of apparent weakness, the reign of God as present in Jesus confronted
and submitted to power. His nonviolent death was not a departure from the activist
pattern of confronting the social order and making the reign of God visible. In the face of
active or direct evil or violence, the refusal to respond in kind is a powerful, chosen act,
not a mere passive submission. Refusing to return evil for evil unmasks the violence of
the evil acts, and demonstrates that the evil which killed Jesus originated with humankind
and not with God.”
273

Golijov’s Passion lacks the cosmic dimension of traditional Christus Victor and the moral
dimension of human sin of satisfaction theory. Nonetheless, in following closely the liberation
theology theme in which the unjust death of a nonviolent protestor, such as Archbishop Oscar
Romero, unmasks the evil of the powers that be, La Pasión finds closest resemblance to
Weaver’s narrative Christus Victor. The connection could be seen another way: a contextual
understanding of narrative Christus Victor would find it particularly resonant among Christians
who are poor and oppressed, which, according to Gutiérrez is exactly the context in which Latin
American Christians daily live.
274

As previously mentioned, the primary interpretive theological frame for La Pasión is the
persistence of belief in the face of suffering, as exemplified in the faith of Latin American
Christians. Golijov’s conclusion to his Passion intentionally mirrors his opening, and thus
reemphasizes the tension of this central theological theme as well. Similarly, juxtaposition of
elements is Golijov’s method of choice; in this case, however, instead of contrasting two
moments in Jesus’ life, the divine regard of his baptism and divine abandonment of his

273
Weaver, 40. The resulting resurrection would then be God’s vindication of the social order and ethic, embodied
in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. (Weaver, 41).

274
Gustavo Gutiérrez and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, On the Side of the Poor: A Theology of Liberation,
(Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2015), 1-2.

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crucifixion, he connects Jesus’ cry of dereliction with two liturgical texts, the “O vos omnes” and
the Kaddish.
Jesus’ death, as momentous in human history as it is in its narrative context, has
compelled many a composer to provide additional interpretive material in the attempt to wrestle
with its meaning for humanity. Writing his St. Matthew and St. John Passions in a liturgical
context, Bach included the subsequent narrative details from the Gospel writers, who themselves
used these events to theologically frame Jesus’ death,
275
as well as arias and chorales that provide
extensive commentary and reemphasize his theological themes.
276
The other Passion 2000
settings likewise provide additional commentary, though in quite varied directions.
277
By
contrast, the concluding frame of La Pasión is relatively restrained. Like Penderecki, Golijov
simply places Jesus’ death in connection to a related Old Testament passage and a liturgical text,
without much further commentary.
278
As has been the case, Golijov seems to be fond of
juxtaposing seemingly disparate texts and traditions yet leaving the listeners to interpret for
themselves the potential meanings.

275
Subsequent events after Jesus’ death from the Gospels include the splitting in two of the Temple curtain, an
earthquake, and the resurrection of several people (Matthew 27:51-52) as well as the burial of Jesus (Matthew
27:57-61, John 19:38-42). The Synoptics all include the confession of the Roman centurion, which plays a
particularly crucial role in Mark’s narrative. “Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way
he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:39)

276
No. 64: “Am Abend, da es kühle war” through the final chorus, No. 68: “Wir setzen un smit Tränen nieder” of
St. Matthew reflect on the expiatory death of Jesus and the removal of guilt from the penitent congregant. No. 30:
“Es ist vollbracht” through No. 32: “Mein teuer Heiland, laß dich fragen” of St. John, in turn, comment on what
Jesus’ victorious death has accomplished.

277
Tan’s Passion suggests a Buddhist interpretive lens, emphasizing the theme of rebirth while using Ecclesiastes 3
to suggest the circularity of life. Rihm’s inclusion of Paul Celan’s poem Tenebrae frames his Passion in the context
of the Holocaust. Gubaidulina’s cosmic framing connects Jesus’ death to portrayals of the beginning and end of time
found in two Johannine passages: the seven bowls of wrath in Revelation 16 and a reprise of her opening passage,
John 1:1.

278
Golijov’s O Vos Omnes is from Lamentations 1:12 and Penderecki includes passages from the Stabat Mater and
Psalm 31.

114
Despite these possibilities, the central theme remains clear, and Golijov’s resolve to end
not with Jesus’ cry, but with the indefatigable praise of the Kaddish, celebrates the resilience of
faith even in the depths of suffering and abandonment. Thus, for all its celebrated variety, La
Pasión según San Marcos remains a theologically unified statement.

No. 27: Amanecer: Ante Pilato (Morning: Before Pilate)

MARCOS (CORO)
Al amanecer: los jefes de los sacerdotes, los
ancianos, los escribas, los maestros de la ley, toda la
junta suprema a Jesús ataron y lo llevaron ante Pilato.
Pilato preguntó:

PILATO (CORO 1)
¿Es verdad? ¿Dicen que eres tú? ¿Tú el rey de los
Judíos?

JESÚS (CORO 2)
Tú lo dices.

PILATO (CORO 1)
¿Callas? ¿Callas? ¿Y no dices nada?

[Y Jesús no contestó — Pilato se extrañó.]

MARK (CHORUS)
And straightway in the morning the chief priests, the
elders and scribes, the teachers, and the whole
council, bound Jesus, and delivered him to Pilate.
And Pilate asked him:

PILATE (CHORUS 1)
Art thou he? Art thou the King of the Jews?

JESUS (CHORUS 2)
Thou sayest it.

PILATE (CHORUS 1)
Art thou silent? Answerest thou nothing?

[And Jesus did not answer — Pilate was amazed.]

No. 28: Silencio (Silence)

Flamenco zapateado y cajón

Flamenco foot-stomping with cajón
No. 29: Sentencia (Sentence)
Instrumental

[Ya durante la fiesta, Pilato preguntó: “Y qué quieren
que haga con el que ustedes llaman el rey de los
Judios?” Y la multitud respondió: “¡Crucifícalo!”
Pilato preguntó: “¿Y a Barrabás?” Y la multitud
respondió: “¡Suéltalo!”

Instrumental

[Because of the festival, Pilate said to them, “What
will ye then that I shall do unto him who ye call the
King of the Jews?” And they cried out again,
“Crucify him!” Pilate said, “And Barrabas?” And the
multitude cried, “Free him!”]

Pilate’s initial question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (Mark 15:2) reveals the nature
of the charge brought by the religious authorities against Jesus. Unlike the previous charge of
blasphemy before the Sanhedrin, Pilate’s questioning is of a political nature. Jesus’ messianic
identity is a problem for the governor only insofar as it might imply insurrection against

115
Rome.
279
Pilate’s words are described in Golijov’s score as “a disembodied sound, beyond good
and evil,” and the use of low strings in tenths played colla parte with voices in low register
evoke a foreboding similar to the texture of No. 10: “El Primer Día”. Thus, while Jesus’ trial
before Pilate has similarities to the Sanhedrin trial, it takes on a more universal nature. If a claim
to messiahship might be seen as a uniquely Jewish and theological matter, a claim to kingship
has implications for all. As such, many Christians see Jesus confronting not just the religious
authorities of his day, but symbolically confronting the powers in the world, whether spiritual or
institutional.
280

While Jesus is notably silent in Mark’s account of the trial, his only reply to Pilate’s
questioning is “You say so.” (NRSV).
281
In contrast to Pilate’s voice, Golijov sets these words
in higher registers for the sopranos and tenors, perhaps due to his belief that this was a moment
of fear for both Jesus and Pilate.
282
To the contrary, Marcus argues that Jesus’ words should not
be construed as said in timidity.
283
Given Jesus’ bound and helpless state, Pilate’s initial

279
Hooker, Lane, and Marcus all contain substantial discussion on the nature of the charge brought against Jesus.
Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According To St. Mark, Black's New Testament Commentaries, (New York:
Continuum, 2001) 367; William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark. The New International Commentary on
the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 546; and Joel Marcus, Mark: A New
Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002, 2009), 1033.

280
See Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017), 1. Wink argues that what the Bible
calls the “Principalities and Powers” (Ephesians 6:12) in an “integral” Christian worldview extends to both spiritual
forces as well as institutional human forces. “In the biblical view, they are both visible and invisible, earthly and
heavenly, spiritual and institutional.” [emphasis in original].

281
The KJV “Thou sayest it” and NIV “You have said so” might obscure the boldness of the reply for the modern
reader. Golijov’s libretto “Tú lo dices” is perhaps closer to how Marcus translates it: “You are saying it.” Marcus,
1027.

282
For Golijov, both Jesus and Pilate seem to be “scared of each other and the monumentality of the moment.”
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020. Likewise in his interview with David Harrington, Golijov
speaks of Jesus’ “dual identity:” “sometimes he’s just a scared man and sometimes he’s God. And sometimes he’s
angry.” David Harrington, “An Interview with Osvaldo Golijov,” Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Program,
45.

283
See Marcus, 1033-1034.

116
question surely carries hints of sarcasm. Nonetheless, Jesus’ bold reply is itself ironic (similar to
Marcus’ “longer reading” of 14:62 in No. 23). Jesus’ answer does not confirm Pilate’s question,
but instead forces the decision back on him. Marcus notes that Pilate’s question could itself be
construed as a statement, again fitting with the Markan theme of Jesus’ opponents unwittingly
proclaiming his true identity. Furthermore, Marcus adds that “Jesus employs none of the
respectful rhetoric (“my lord,” etc.) that might be expected from a low-class provincial on trial
for his life before the supreme Roman official in Palestine” and that his reply “displays the very
royal consciousness that he is being interrogated about, since no one would dare to answer a
ruler in this way unless he felt himself to be somehow his superior.”
284

Such subversive subtext is perhaps better illustrated in Golijov’s subsequent portrayal in
No. 28 “Silencio.” In a striking compositional decision that clearly demonstrates Golijov’s
preference for embodied ritual over discursive commentary (see discussion in Ch. 1), Jesus’
silence before Pilate, what Golijov labels a “silence of absolute rage,” is expressed through an
extended section of flamenco clapping.
285
Labeled martinete and tanguillos in the score, Golijov
shares that these rhythms are from the cante hondo (Spanish for “deep song”) flamenco
tradition,
286
which is said to emphasize the tragic side of life with expressions of profound
feeling.
287
Golijov adds that these rhythms were used by the Roma people living in Spain who

284
Marcus, 1034.

285
Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee.

286
Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee.

287
J.B. Trend, “Cante Hondo.,” Grove Music Online, Revised by Israel J. Katz, January 20, 2001, Accessed July 31,
2020, https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.04759.

117
were often condemned to death.
288
Thus, for Golijov, this movement evokes “the rage of those
unjustly sentenced to death.”
289

While Jesus’s silence before Pilate is only a short verse in Mark’s account, there are a
constellation of possible theological connections here, and Golijov’s Passion account is unique in
highlighting this theme. In Mark’s account, silence plays a significant narrative role. People and
demons alike are ordered by Jesus to be silent about his identity.
290
Several women, though
never given direct speech, are commended for their faith.
291
When the religious authorities are
critical of Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus looks around at them in silent anger, grieved at
their hardness of heart.
292
Silence, on the other hand, is not universally commended, as the
women who witness the empty tomb are portrayed in their silence as failing to tell others of the
resurrection.
293

In this particular context, Marcus writes that Jesus’ silence reveals a “sovereign self-
possession,” in that “he does not defend himself or try to escape from the brutal fate that hangs
over him, but risks antagonizing Pilate by his repeated refusal to answer direct questions.”
294

This silence apparently had quite an effect on Pilate; instead of provoking Pilate’s wrath, 15:5b

288
Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee.

289
Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. Golijov further specifies in the score “No es una marcha, sino una expresión
de tremendo dolor colectivo.” [This is not a march, but an expression of tremendous collective pain] Osvaldo
Golijov, La Pasión según San Marcos, (New York: Hendon Music, 2000) 252.

290
Mark 1:25, 1:43-44

291
Mark 5:25-34, Mark 12:41-44, Mark 14:3-9

292
Mark 3:5

293
Mark 16:8, assuming that Mark’s Gospel ends at Mark 16:8.

294
Marcus, 1034.

118
notes that it instead elicits his amazement. Furthermore, Jesus’ behavior as a whole seemed
enough to convince Pilate of Jesus’ innocence (see 15:10).
Finally, as is often the case in Mark’s account, Jesus’ silence can also be seen evoking
Old Testament prophecy. In particular, Isaiah’s Suffering Servant is notably silent before his
accusers. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah
53:7). Contrary to the criticisms of Michael Linton who says “Golijov’s stamping chorus, while
a spectacular theatrical effect, tells us nothing about Pilate or Jesus,” “Silencio” is a movement
of profound, indeed if not understated, cultural, historical and theological meaning.
295

No. 29 “Sentencia” continues Golijov’s self-described “storytelling by drums.”
296
Pilate,
portrayed by the Batá drums, dialogues with the raucous crowd calling for Jesus’ death, in turn
portrayed by bass drum and snare drum. Golijov’s account assumes audience familiarity with
this portion of the Passion narrative, foregoing any mentioning of Barabbas and the alleged
custom of releasing a prisoner during the festival besides briefly mentioning it in brackets in the
libretto (see Mark 15:6-15). For Golijov, the focus is primarily on the back and forth between
the ensembles, with increasing tempo and intensity as the two parties argue.
297

The ability of the crowds to cow Pilate, the Roman Governor, into submission is a
striking contrast to the crowds described in No. 5: “Tercer Anuncio,” whose support for Jesus

295
Michael Linton, “Passion Stomp,” First Things, December 2001, Accessed May 6, 2020,
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2001/12/passion-stomp.

296
Harrington, 43. See Ch. 4 commentary on No. 6.

297
Golijov has shared often his reservations about setting the Passion account, particularly this scene of the crowd
and Pilate, due to its historic use by some to place the blame of Jesus’ death on the Jews (Golijov, Interview with
Daniel Gee.). As mentioned before, Mark’s account seems to primarily single out the religious leaders more than
the Jews as a collective people group (see Ch. 4 No. 5). Nonetheless, it would be not surprising if Golijov wished to
move the focus of this section away from the culpability of the crowd to the drama of the dispute itself.

119
seemingly protected him from outright arrest by the religious authorities.
298
Of course, there is
no reason to assume these were the same people, historically speaking.
299
Nonetheless, in the
context of Golijov’s Passion, the contrasting, and seemingly contradictory, role “the crowds”
play suggests a more complicated depiction than might have been expected. Golijov states his
intention to portray a Jesus that represents “the people” of Latin America in their collective
suffering as well as their calls for justice.
300
As mentioned previously, Judas’ complicated
portrayal in No. 13: “Quisiera Yo Renegar” suggests how the oppressed can contribute to their
own oppression, and that there is often no clear distinction between oppressed and oppressor.
Similarly, “the people” who implacably proclaim the coming kingdom of God in No. 3: “Primer
Anuncio” can also be the crowd mercilessly calling for the death of an innocent man in Nos. 29-
32.
No. 30: Comparsa al Gólgotha (To Golgotha)
[Y le golpeaban la cabeza con una vara, lo escupían y
le hacían reverencias]

MULTITUD (CORO 1 & 2)
Ya nos vamos al Gólgotha a crucificar al rey, muerte
al rey, es el fin.

¡Salve! ¡Viva el rey de los Judíos!
¡Cristo rey, viva Cristo!

¡Él salvó a los otros, pero él mismo va a morir!

¡Muerte al rey de los Judíos!
¡Salve, Cristo, sálvate a ti mismo!

[And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did
spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped
him.]

THE CROWD (CHORUS 1 & 2)
Let us go to Golgotha and crucify the King, death to
the King, this is the end.

Hail to the King of the Jews! Hail to Christ the King!

He helped others, but he himself will die.

Death to the King of the Jews! Hail, Christ, save
thyself!

298
Indeed, Hooker even doubts the veracity of the account, saying that Pilate was described in early sources as an
“inflexible, merciless and obstinate man.” Hooker, 366.

299
Hooker suggests that this might have been a crowd of Barabbas supporters. Hooker, 369.

300
Harrington, 45.

120
No. 31: Danza de la Sábana Púrpura – Manto Sagrado (Dance of the Holy Purple Robe)

Instrumental
[Con capa púrpura lo envolvieron, corona de espinas
le pusieron.]

Instrumental
[With the purple robe they did clothe him, a crown of
thorns did they set upon his head.]
No. 32: Crucifixión (Crucifixion)
MULTITUD (CORO)
¡Baja Jesús!
¡Baja de la Cruz para que Israel pueda creer!
¡Muerte al rey de los Judíos!
¡Salve, Cristo rey! ¡Sálvate a ti mismo!
Vamos al Gólgotha a crucificar al rey,
Este es el fin.

¡Muere Cristo! ¡Muere al rey de los Judíos!
¡Muere ya, Cristo rey, crucificado!

THE CROWD (CHORUS)
Descend, Jesus,
Descend from the Cross, so that Israel may believe!
The King of the Jews dies!
Hail, King of the Jews! Save thyself!
Let us go to Golgotha and crucify the King,
This is the end.

Christ dies! The King of the Jews dies!
Christ the King dies now, crucified!

What follows Jesus’ sentencing to death is essentially an extended movement detailing
his procession to the cross and crucifixion amidst a jeering crowd calling for his death. Lane
writes that crucifixion was “one of the cruelest and most degrading forms of punishment ever
conceived by human perversity, even in the eyes of the pagan world.”
301
It has thus confounded
some that Golijov chose to set the scene as a comparsa, a street parade typically associated with
festive celebrations, such as Carnival.
302
Writing in the journal First Things, Michael Linton’s
criticisms are representative.
303
After criticizing Golijov’s extensive use of “street festival”
rhythms as simply a “mind numbing racket” only “useful for camouflaging holes in a composer’s
imagination,” Linton ends his review with particular disdain for his portrayal of the crucifixion.
“So, again, why the cheers? One of the German critics knew. ‘What was expected was a
somber piece about Jesus’ sufferings, melancholy and reverent. Instead we had a clapping
chorus, exuberant dancing musicians, bongos, a black Christ, and dance rhythms at the
Crucifixion.’ This Passion is fun. Tragic yes, but not a tragedy of our or anybody’s

301
Lane, 562.

302
Gerard Béhague and Robin Moore, “Cuba, Republic of,” Grove Music Online, January 20, 2001, Updated on
July 25, 2013, Accessed February 19, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.06926.

303
Linton, “Passion Stomp.”

121
making...Golijov has given the millennium’s international Bobos just the kind of Passion
they want: a no fault, no consequence, Good Friday lite experience you can dance to. The
only surprise is that the cheering stopped so soon. Golgotha? Let’s samba!”
304

As is evident from this passage and others previously quoted, Linton’s judgment is laden
with cultural assumptions about the range of meanings (or lack thereof) possible for particular
genres. Samba is necessarily and self-evidently “fun.” Anything that involves dance will
necessarily lack reverence and consequence. Linton’s confidence in the universality of his
perceptions, particularly regarding genres likely outside his context, reveals a deeper
Eurocentrism completely oblivious to its own limits of knowledge and understanding.
On the contrary, it seems that even Bach himself, whom Linton labels in his review as a
“great” composer with a “sacred choral legacy”, was not above including dance in his
Passions.
305
Susan McClary agrees that Golijov’s wide use of genres finds precedent in Bach. “In
this [Golijov] self-consciously parallels Bach’s own penchant for eclectic collage - a
characteristic we rarely notice because the intervening three centuries have made his secular
dances and Italian love songs all just sound like...baroque church music.”
306
For his own part,
Golijov insists that in a Latin American understanding, “dance is a spiritual thing.”
307

Questioning where exactly such critics would place the border between secular and sacred,
Golijov believes there is an arrogance of claiming one thing is sacred and another thing is not.

304
Linton, “Passion Stomp.”

305
For a striking example in Bach’s St. John Passion of dance in the most serious of moments, the death of Jesus,
see the aria “Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen.”

306
Susan McClary, “More Pomo than thou: The Status of cultural meanings in music,” New Formations; Spring
2009, 33.

307
Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee.

122
Finally, even if Linton’s perception is granted, namely that the comparsa in La Pasión
evokes festive celebration, there is a sense in which this might be actually appropriate for the
scene, horrifying as it might be. When Mark speaks of the mocking crowds around Jesus, it is
more than likely such people were not in a terribly reverent mood. From a narrative perspective,
it is somber, tearful reflection that is arguably out of place.
308
The scene of a raucous festival
procession surrounding someone beaten and being marched to his death, though grotesque and
horrifying, might actually be appropriate to capture the tragic drama of the moment.
Toward this end, Golijov again makes use of antiphonal writing to portray the pervasive
mocking surrounding Jesus. This is particularly true of No. 32 when the taunting crowds call on
Jesus to save himself and come down from the cross (Example 7.1).

308
This is particularly true in Mark’s account, who fills the scene primarily with people mocking Jesus. Only the
women “looking on from a distance” (15:40) and perhaps later the believing centurion (15:39) are depicted as
potentially having anything close to the sorrow or reverence associated with Good Friday (with the exception,
perhaps, of Peter in Mark 14:72). By contrast, Luke’s account is filled with people “beating their breasts” and
“wailing” for Jesus as he marches to the cross and dies (Luke 23:27,48).

123
Example 7.1: Antiphonal writing to portray surrounding crowds in No. 32: “Crucifixión”
(mm. 9-12)

While the texture of the section is primarily call-and-response between choirs and brass, a brief
moment of piercing dissonance from the piano punctures the scene, perhaps briefly unmasking
the cruelty of the otherwise celebratory affair (Example 7.2).

124
Example 7.2: Piano Dissonance in No. 30: “Comparsa al Gólgotha” (mm. 97-103)

No. 31: “Danza de la Sábana Púrpura—Manto Sagrado” is a reference to the purple robe,
mock regalia in which the soldiers dressed Jesus while taunting and beating him. Golijov’s score
indicates a dance on stage between the capoeira and cuban dancer, which can be seen in the 2008
Holland Festival performance as a scene in which one is nailed to an imaginary cross and killed
by the other.
309
This is the third and final capoeira dance of the Passion. All this time, the
chorus graphically embodies the role of what Golijov compares to an angry lynching mob.
310

This explicitly portrayed scene, while in contrast to earlier ritualistic moments that are mostly

309
Osvaldo Golijov, La Pasión según San Marcos, Deutsche Grammophon, DVD Performance, 2008.

310
Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee.

125
symbolic, sets up the horror, astonishment, and sorrow that the chorus will portray in the final
movements.
Golijov’s movement for the crucifixion itself, though similar in texture to the comparsa
in No. 30, nevertheless serves as a climax to the mocking and rage expressed toward Jesus.
Thickly voiced chords on beat two in the brass, perhaps evoking the hammer strikes nailing
Jesus’ hands to the cross, prelude the chorus’ final taunts before Jesus dies (Example 7.3).
Example 7.3: Hammer Strikes in Trumpets, Trombones, Piano in No. 32: “Crucifixión”
(mm. 5-6)

Mark lists several groups of people mocking Jesus as he hangs on the cross: soldiers
(15:16-20), passers-by (15:29) the chief priests (15:31), and even those crucified with Jesus
(15:32).
311
Roman officials saw crucifixion as a customary, if not horrific, method of preserving
public order. As such, Jesus was likely crucified beside a road for all to see as they passed by.
312

The taunt to “descend from the cross so that Israel may believe” (Golijov’s libretto) is

311
Luke, unlike Mark, distinguishes between how the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus responded to
him, one of them declaring Jesus’ innocence and declaring his belief in him (Luke 23:39-43).

312
Hooker, 372.

Trumpets

Trombones

Piano

126
particularly prominent, in the belief that by doing so, he would prove himself to be the Messiah.
Hooker, however, notes the irony in this portrayal. “But for Mark it is on his cross that Jesus is
proclaimed to be the King of Israel, and by his death that he is affirmed as Messiah: to save
himself would in fact be to deny that he is Messiah, not to establish it.”
313
Moments before Jesus
dies, the chorus, hitherto almost always split antiphonally, closes the movement in jarring unison
with the brass, screaming at a feverish pitch “¡Muere Cristo! ¡Muere al rey de los Judios! ¡Muere
ya, Cristo rey, crucificado!” Following Weaver’s narrative Christus Victor, just as Jesus’
suffering and death paradoxically reveals his messianic identity, so the murderous cries around
him reveal the true nature of the powers that be.

No. 33: Muerte (Death)
[Y en la hora sexta hubo tinieblas sobre la tierra y a
la novena clamó Jesús:]

JESÚS
Elohí, Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?

[Así Jesús con grito expiró y el velo del templo de
arriba a abajo en dos se rasgó]

[And when the sixth hour was come, there was
darkness over the whole land. And at the ninth hour
Jesus cried:]

JESUS
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

[And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the
ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom
While Golijov will fully reprise the opening musical material in No. 34, the significant
feature of this brief movement is the recall of the trumpet line from No. 1. What was previously
heard as only a musical idea is now given text and revealed as Jesus’ cry of dereliction, sung in
Aramaic by the contralto soloist (Example 7.4).

313
Hooker, 372.

127
Example 7.4: Cry of Dereliction in No. 1 “Visión” (mm. 13-15) and No. 33: “Muerte” (mm.
5-6)
(a) Trumpet (No. 1, mm. 13-15)

(b) Soloist (No. 33, mm. 5-6)

As his last words in the Passion, and indeed in the Gospel of Mark, “Elohí, Elohí, ¿Lama
Shabachtani?” becomes the final and enduring portrait of Jesus. For the writer of Mark’s
Gospel, Jesus’ messiahship was inextricably linked to his suffering, a portrayal that was likely
striking, if not baffling, to many of his contemporaries. This emphasis is made particularly clear
when compared with Jesus’ last recorded words in the Gospels of Luke and John.
314
Notably,
both Luke and John portray Jesus as retaining a sense of agency even at the moment of his death.

314
Matthew, likely using Mark as a source, also has the cry of dereliction as Jesus’ last words. Matthew 27:46 “And
about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?”

128
Table 7.1: Jesus’ Last Words in Mark, Luke, and John
Mark 15:34 “At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema
sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

Luke 23:46 “Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I
commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.”
315

John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed
his head and gave up his spirit.”

Like his prayer in Gethsemane, Jesus’ cry of dereliction can be perplexing to some and
troubling to others (see Chapter 7, No. 19: “Agonía”), especially when upheld alongside belief in
Jesus’ divine nature as well as God’s goodness. Lane writes that the cry is a sequel to the horror
of Gethsemane.
316
“His cry expresses the profound horror of separation from God...the sinless
Son of God died the sinner’s death and experienced the bitterness of desolation. This was the
cost of providing a ‘ransom for the many’ (Ch. 10:45).”
317
Likewise, Marcus finds in Jesus’ cry
evidence of his identification with humanity.
While some Christians have been troubled by this cry of dereliction, others have seen it
as an indication of Jesus’ identification with humanity and thus as a source of comfort
and empowerment. Jesus, at the nadir of his existence, experiences the same sense of
divine abandonment that so often characterizes our lives; as Augustine puts it, he ‘took
on the speech of our infirmity’ (Letter 140, to Honoratus 5).
318

315
While the NRSV does not seem to indicate this difference, Brown says that Luke’s softening of the passage is
even portrayed in his choice of the verb phōnein (“to cry out”) over Mark’s verb boan (“to scream”). Raymond E.
Brown, The Death of the Messiah, 2 vols., (New York: Doubleday, 1994), 1067. Furthermore, while the Markan
Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1, the Lukan Jesus likewise quotes the Psalter, but instead Psalm 31:5.

316
Brown also connects Jesus’ cry to the Gethsemane prayer in that Mark reports the address of each prayer in
Jesus’ mother tongue “Abba” and “Eloi.” Brown, 1046.

317
William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark. The New International Commentary on the New Testament,
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 573.

318
Joel Marcus, Mark: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. 2 vols. (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2002, 2009), 1064.

129
Brown, in turn, connects passages such as Jesus’ cry and his Gethsemane prayer to the
Epistle to the Hebrews, where the writer cites Jesus’ suffering as essential for his becoming
atonement and intercessor for Christians.
319

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has
been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with
boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews
4:14-16)

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and
tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his
reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he
suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all
who obey him, (Hebrews 5:7-9)

For Latin American Christians, Jesus’ cry can be understood as in solidarity with their
lives filled with poverty, suffering and oppression. Even more, however, for Latin American
Christians killed in the fight for justice, Jesus’ death at the hands of oppressors serves as a
powerful vindication of their own death. Jon Sobrino, who finds a resemblance of Jesus’ death to
that of Archbishop Oscar Romero, writes that “The true Messiah, defender of the hope of the
poor, finishes on a cross.”
320
And yet, in light of belief in Jesus’ subsequent resurrection, there
remains a powerful hope that injustice will not have the last word. Sobrino, expounding a
theology of resurrection from the “view of the victim,” gives a framework for suffering
Christians to “live as a risen people — the weakness of history — in following Jesus and to have
the victims’ hope that God will triumph over injustice.”
321

319
Brown, 1047.

320
Jon Sobrino, Christ the Liberator: A View from the Victims, (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2001) 150.

321
Sobrino, 15.

130
No. 34: Kadish
322

ECO DEL GRITO DE MUERTE (MUJERES)
Elohí, Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?

LA VOZ DE LOS CIELOS (HOMBRES)
Tú eres él, mi hijo amado, yo a ti te elegí

JEREMÍAS
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte
si est dolor sicut dolor meus.

CORO & SOLO (en arameo)
¡Ytgadal VeYtkaddash Sh’meh Rabbáh, Amen!
Yhié Shme Rabbáh Mebaraj Lealam Yl’Almey
Almayá
Ytbaraj VeYshtabaj Veytpaar VeYtromam VeYtnasé

ECHO OF THE CRY OF DEATH (WOMEN)
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

VOICE FROM HEAVEN (MEN)
Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

JEREMIAH
Is it nothing to you, all ye who pass by?
Behold, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like
unto my sorrow.

CHORUS & SOLO (Aramaic)
May his great Name grow exalted and sanctified,
Amen!
May his great Name be blessed forever and ever.

VeYtadar VeYtaalé VeYthalal Shmeh Dekudeshá
Brij Hu.

LeAlmá Min Kol Birjatá VeShiratá
Tsuhbejatá Venejematá,
Damirán VeAlmá
VeYmru: Amen.
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, mighty,
upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One.

Blessed is He beyond any blessing and song, praise
and consolation that are uttered in the world. And
say: Amen.

Nonetheless, the reality of suffering and injustice remains, and for the narrative of La
Pasión, the story ends with the death of Jesus of Nazareth. At this point, the chorus that
previously embodied a murderous mob now becomes a crowd stunned in shock, fear, and
wonder at what has just occurred. As is often the case, however, liturgy gives us an enduring
framework through which to understand the momentous and often difficult events in life, and
thus to end his work, Golijov turns to the Kaddish.
The Kaddish, a Jewish prayer of sanctification, has had an over a millennia-old history of
various liturgical functions, and it is only in recent centuries that it has become generally
understood as a memorial prayer.
323
The paradox of this association, however, is that the

322
“Kaddish” in the English translation.
323
Deborah Kramer Netanel, “The Kaddish: A Jewish Prayer in Western Art Music,” D.M.A. diss., University of
Cincinnati, 2003, 2-3.

131
Kaddish makes no mention of death or the dead. Instead, the words in Aramaic form an
extended prayer of sanctification and praise, exalting the Name of the Holy One who is “blessed
beyond any blessing and song, praise and consolation that are uttered in the world.”
Golijov retains the themes of both lament and death, however, by also layering over the
Kaddish Jesus’ prayer of dereliction, and the Latin text “O vos omnes.” The latter is from the
Vulgate translation of the Old Testament book of Lamentations, in which the prophet Jeremiah
laments the destruction of Jerusalem. The “O vos omnes” text has been set by several composers
as motets, but its liturgical association has been with Holy Saturday, during the evening office of
Matins.
324
While a text from the Hebrew Bible, the Latin “O vos omnes,” then, would have a
particular Christian significance, as it has historically been used both to remember Jesus in the
tomb, as well as anticipate the Easter Vigil that would follow. For Golijov, the layering of these
various texts and their associated traditions could be somewhat biographical, reflecting the
mixture of traditions he has found himself surrounded by throughout his life and that have
influenced his understanding of both the Passion as well as Christianity in Latin America.
Golijov’s musical elements further establish the consummative character of this final
movement. The reprisal of the berimbau texture from No. 1 further solidifies the fact that we
have come full circle, though the choral parts echo Jesus’ cry of dereliction over the opening
berimbau texture, in full acknowledgment of what has passed in the work’s narrative. An
additional recall of material comes at m. 28 when the men of the choir sing the three-note rising
motive, first played by the low strings in No. 2.

324
Ron Jeffers, Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire, Vol. I: Sacred Latin Texts, (Corvallis:
Earthsongs, 1989), 182.

132
Most significantly, however, Golijov shares that the Kaddish allowed him to share his
personal reflections on the Passion narrative. In spite of Jesus’ tragic and unjust death, Golijov
finds a sense of triumph in the recitation of the Kaddish, and thus by extension, in the persistence
of faith in the face of death.
The Kaddish is as close as I could get to the idea of resurrection. I still don’t believe in
physical resurrection or any kind of personal resurrection. But I believe that life
overcomes death, and the Kaddish is extraordinary because it is recited or sung as an
expression of compassion and love for the departed and the word death is not
pronounced. It is a hymn to God and the continuity of life...So the Kaddish was for me to
say, “How can I honestly say how I feel?”
325

It is fitting, then, that while the cry of dereliction comes to a climax at mm. 142-146, Golijov
nonetheless ends with the triumph he finds in the Kaddish. Yet, if it is a triumph, it is a quiet one,
full of faith, yet tempered by the acknowledgment of suffering. In all, however, Golijov’s
Passion ends as it began: no didactic commentary, no explicit answers, but a stark, existentialist
portrayal of the persistence of faith in the midst of sorrow, doubt, and injustice. Golijov shares
that, in his mind, the death of Jesus is one of those few moments in human history that will
forever echo with significance. As such, perhaps it is best to let these resounding moments speak
for themselves.

325
Osvaldo Golijov, Interview with Daniel Gee. July 9, 2020.

133
APPENDIX A: LIBRETTO
No. 1: “Visión: Bautismo en La Cruz” (Vision: Baptism on the Cross)
Instrumental, basado en los siguientes textos:
[LA VOZ DE LOS CIELOS
Tú eres él, mi hijo amado, yo a ti te elegí
JESÚS
Elohí, Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?]
Instrumental, based on the following texts:
[VOICE FROM HEAVEN
Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
JESUS
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?]

No. 2: Danza del Pescador Pescado (Dance of the Ensnared Fisherman)
Danza con red — instrumental Dance with net — Instrumental

No. 3: Primer Anuncio (First Announcement)
JESÚS (CORO)
Despiértense, porque no saben
cuando va a llegar el Señor.
¡Veni, Jesú!

Si al anochecer, a medianoche,
al canto del gallo o a la mañana…
no saben cuando viene el Señor.

JESUS (CHORUS)
Watch ye therefore, for ye know not
when the master of the house cometh.
Come, Jesus!

At evening, or at midnight,
or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning…
for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh.

No. 4: Segundo Anuncio (Second Announcement)

MARCOS (SOLO & CORO)
Dos dias, sólo dos días faltaban para la pascua, la
fiesta de la matza, y los jefes de los sacerdotes, los
maestros de la ley, buscaban como matar por engaño
a Jesús. Porque decían:
MARK (SOLO & CHORUS)
After two days was the feast of the passover, and of
Unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and
put him to death, but they said:
No. 5: Tercer Anuncio: En Fiesta No (Third Announcement: Not on the Feast Day)
SACERDOTES (CORO)
Pero en fiesta no que no se amotine el pueblo.

PRIESTS (CHORUS)
Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of
thepeople
No. 6: Dos Días (Two Days)
MARCOS (CORO)
Dos días faltaban para la pascua.
MARK (CHORUS)
After two days was the feast of the passover

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No. 7: Unción en Betania (The Anointment in Bethany)

MARCOS (SOLO)
Presten mucha atención: Jesús había ido a Betania a
casa de Simón el lepreso, y llegó una mujer con vaso
de alabastro de perfume de nardo puro de mucho
valor. Y el vaso ella rompió, y el perfume derramó
en la cabeza de Jesús, y algunos de los que estaban se
enojaron dentro de sí y comenzaron a murmurar.
MARK (SOLO)
Take heed: Jesus being in Bethany in the house of
Simon the leper, there came a woman having an
alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious.
And she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
And there were some that had indignation within
themselves, and they murmured against her.

No. 8: ¿Por Qué? (Why?)

APÓSTOLES
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? ¡Que dé el dinero a los pobres!
En vez de desperdiciar podría haberse vendido en
más de trescientos de los denarios.

JESÚS
¿Por qué ustedes la molestan? ¿Y no la dejan en paz?
A los pobres siempre tendrán y podrán hacerles bien,
pero a mí no, a mí no me tendrán.

Que ella hizo buena obra, porque ya mi cuerpo ungió
y lo preparó para la sepultura.

APÓSTOLES
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? ¡Que dé el dinero a los pobres!
Porque si se pudiera vender.

JESÚS
De verdad les digo yo: que en todo lugar del mundo
donde esta historia se cuente de ella se van a acordar.

APOSTLES
Why? Why? The money should have been given to
the poor! Why was this waste of the ointment made?
For it might have been sold for more than three
hundred pence.

JESUS
Leave her alone: why trouble ye her? Ye have the
poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye
may do them good. But me ye have not always…

She hath wrought a good work on me. She is come
aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

APOSTLES
Why? Why? The money should have been given to
the poor! It might have been sold.

JESUS
Verily I say unto you: wheresoever this gospel shall
be preached throughout the whole world, this also
that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial
of her.
No. 9: Oración Lucumí (Aria con Grillos)
Lucumí Prayer (Aria with Crickets)

La mujer callada en Betania — Instrumental The silent woman in Bethany— Instrumental

No. 10: El Primer Día (The First Day)
JUDAS
Era el primer día de la fiesta de la matza, y
sacrificaban el cordero pascual.

APÓSTOLES
¿No seré yo? ¿Acaso seré yo?

JUDAS
It was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread,
when they sacrificed the paschal lamb.

APOSTLES
Will it be I? Will it, perhaps, be I?

135
No. 11/12: Judas y El Cordero Pascual (Judas and The Paschal Lamb)
MARCOS
Judas el Iscariote, uno de los doce, (fue quien) lo
traicionó. Él fue a ver a los jefes de los sacerdotes para
la ocasión.

APÓSTOLES
¿No seré yo? ¿Acaso seré yo?

MARCOS
Los jefes se alegraron y prometieron darle dinero.
Iscariote volvió, la cena preparó, y se sentó a la mesa,
junto con todos, comió el cordero.

APÓSTOLES
¿No seré yo? ¿Acaso seré yo?/¡Yo no soy traidor!

MARCOS
Jesús estaba en la mesa. Jesús mojaba el pan junto a los
doce, y les habló:

JESÚS
Yo de verdad les digo que uno de ustedes es (aquí está)
el traidor. Es uno de los doce que está conmigo mojando
el pan.

MARCOS
Así es como está escrito: así el hijo del hombre se va

TRES MUJERES/MARCOS
¡Ay, ay, ay, pobre traidor! Mejor para él si no nació.

MARK
And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, was to betray
him. He sought out the high priests for this purpose.

APOSTLES
Will it be I? Will it, perhaps be I?

MARK
And when they heard it, they were glad, and
promised to give him money. Iscariot returned and
prepared the supper and he sat at table and along with
the rest ate he the lamb.

APOSTLES
Will it be I? I am not the betrayer!

MARK
Jesus was at table. Jesus dipped the bread with the
twelve, and said to them:

JESUS
Verily I say unto you: one of you shall betray me. It
is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish.

MARK
As it is written of him: the Son of man indeed goeth.

THREE WOMEN/MARK
Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is
betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had never
been born.
No. 13: Quisiera Yo Renegar (Aria de Judas)
I wish to forswear (Aria of Judas)

JUDAS
¡Ah! Quisiera yo renegar de este mundo por entero,
volver de nuevo a habitar, ¡mare de mi corazón! Por
ver si en un mundo nuevo encontraba más verdad.

JUDAS
I wish to forswear this world completely and return
again to live, mother of my heart! To see whether in a
new world I could find more truth.
No. 14: Eucaristía (The Eucharist)

MARCOS (MUJERES)
Así Jesús tomó el pan y lo bendijo, y lo partió, se los
dio y les dijo:

JESÚS
He aquí: este es mi cuerpo

MARCOS (MUJERES)
Jesús tomó el vino, dio las gracias y lo bebió, lo
compartió, se los dio y les dijo:

MARK (WOMEN)
Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave
to them, and said:

JESUS
Take, eat: this is my body

MARK (WOMEN)
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he
said to them:

136
JESÚS
He aquí: este es mi sangre derramada por muchos.

JESÚS/MARCOS (MUJERES)
De verdad les digo que ya no beberé del fruto de la
vid hasta el día en que beba el vino nuevo en el reino
de Dios.

JESUS
This is my blood, which is shed for many

JESUS/MARK (WOMEN)
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit
of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the
kingdom of God.
No. 15: Demos Gracias Al Señor (We Give Thanks unto the Lord)

CORO
Demos gracias al Señor, que su amor es eterno.
Demos gracias al Señor y alabemos su nombre,
cantemos al Señor que su amor es eterno. Él es el
Salvador.

Aunque tiemble la tierra demos gracias al Señor, que
su amor es eterno. El es Salvador, él reina allá en lo
alto.

Cuando viene la muerte y me enreda en sus lazos,
cuando me hallo preso de miedo y dolor y la angustia
me alcanza yo te canto (le doy gracias) al Señor. El
amor es él.

Tiembla, tiembla, tierra...Te damos gracias al Señor.

Porque aunque tiemble la tierra y muerte viene a
buscarme, yo te canto, Señor. ¡Alabemos al Señor!
Cantamos, alabamos, te damos gracias, Señor.

CHORUS
We give thanks unto the Lord; because his mercy
endureth forever. We give thanks to the Lord and
glorify his name. Praise we the Lord, whose
goodness is eternal. He is the Savior

Even while the earth trembles give thanks to the
Lord, for his goodness is eternal. He is the Savior that
reigns in Heaven.

When death comes and captures me, and I am held in
its noose, when I am a prisoner of fear and pain and
anguish touches me I sing (give thanks) to the Lord.
He is love.

Tremble, Tremble, earth...We give thanks to the Lord

For though the earth trembles and death comes to
find me I sing to the Lord and give praise to the Lord.
We give thanks, O Lord.

No. 16: En el Monte de los Olivos (On the Mount of Olives)
MARCOS
Después de cantar los salmos fueron al monte de los
olivos, y dijo Jesús:

JESÚS
Todos ustedes van a perder la fe en mí. Así está
escrito: mataré al pastor y se descarriarán las ovejas.
Pero yo resucitaré y a la Galilea los guiaré.

MARK
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into
the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them:

JESUS
All ye shall be offended because of me this night for
it is written: I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep
will be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go
before you into Galilee

137

137
No. 17: Cara a Cara (Face to Face)

MARCOS
Y Pedro le dijo:

PEDRO
Todos perderán la fe, no nunca te negaré

MARCOS
Y Jesús le contestó:

JESÚS
A mí tú me negarás, tú mismo me negarás. Te digo
que esta noche a mí tú me negarás. Antes que el gallo
cante dos veces tú me vas a negar tres.

PEDRO
Yo jamás te negaré

JESÚS
Te digo que me negarás

PEDRO
Yo contigo moriré

JESÚS
...negarás

PEDRO
...moriré

MARK
But Peter said to him:

PETER
Although all shall be offended, I will not deny thee in
any wise.

MARK
And Jesus saith unto him:

JESUS
Thou shalt deny me, verily thou shalt deny me. I say
unto thee that this night thou shalt deny me. Before
the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice.

PETER
I will not deny thee in any wise.

JESUS
Verily I say unto thee thou shalt deny me.

PETER
I Will die with thee.

JESUS
[you will] deny me.

PETER
[I will] die.
No. 18: En Getsemaní (In Gethsemane)
MARCOS (MUJERES)
Fueron de ahí a Getsemaní; dijo Jesús:

JESÚS
Mi alma está triste, es la muerte. ¡Velen!

MARK (WOMEN)
And they went from there to Gethsemane; and Jesus
said:

JESUS
My soul is troubled unto death. Watch!

No. 19: Agonía (Aria de Jesús) Agony (Aria of Jesus)

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
Abba, abba, abba…Aparta el cáliz de mi, apártalo de
mí.

MARCOS (CORO 1)
Él volvió y dormían, y llamó a Pedro:

JESÚS (SOLO 2 & CORO 1)
¡Simón! ¿Duermes? ¿Siquiera una hora pudiste
velar?

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Abba, Father...take away this cup from me, take it
away from me.

MARK (CHORUS 1)
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith
unto Peter.

JESUS (SOLO 2 & CHORUS I)
Simon! Sleepest thou?
Couldest not thou watch one hour?

138
CORO 2
Si al anochecer, a medianoche, al canto del gallo o a
la mañana.

JESÚS (SOLO 3)
Despiértense…

JESÚS (SOLO 2)
El alma quiere la verdad, pero la carne es débil.

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
Abba, abba, abba…Aparta el cáliz de mi, apártalo de
mí.

MARCOS (CORO 1)
Él volvió y dormían, los ojos cargados de sueño
tenían.

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
Abba, abba, abba…Aparta de mí el cáliz, aparta el
cáliz, apártalo...Pero no lo que quiero yo sino lo que
Tú

JESÚS (SOLO 3)
Duerman ya, la hora llegó

CORO 2
Si al anochecer, a medianoche, al canto del gallo o a
la mañana.

JESÚS (SOLO 1)
¡Vámanos, vámanos, levántense!
¿No ven que el hijo del hombre va a ser entregado en
manos de los pecadores?
Vamos, se acerca el traidor ahí, el hijo del hombre ya
se va, sí…

JESÚS (SOLO 1), CORO 1 & 2
Ya se va el hijo del hombre…

CHORUS 2
At evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning.

JESUS (SOLO 3)
Watch ye…

JESUS (SOLO 2)
The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Abba, Father, take away this cup from me, take it
away from me.

MARK (CHORUS 1)
And when he returned, he found them asleep again,
for their eyes were heavy.

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Abba, Father…take away this cup from me. Take
this cup, take it away...Nevertheless, not what I will,
but what thou wilt.

JESUS (SOLO 3)
You sleep now, the hour is come.

CHORUS 2
At evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning.

JESUS (SOLO 1)
Rise up, rise up! Behold the Son of man is betrayed
into the hands of sinners. Let us go; lo, he that
betrayeth me is at hand. The Son of man goeth.

JESUS (SOLO 1) CHORUS 1 & 2
The Son of man must indeed go...

No. 20: Arresto (The Arrest)

JUDAS (CORO & SOLO)
¡Al que bese, ese es!

MARCOS (SOLO 1-3)
Jesús todavía hablaba cuando Judas Iscariote, llegó
con la muchedumbre, con espadas y garrotes. Los
mandaban los escribas, los jefes de los sacerdotes.
Judas dio la señal, Maestro, dijo el traidor. Iscariote
se acercó: Maestro, dijo, y lo besó. Entonces le
echaron mano así es como lo arrestaron. Pero uno de
los que estaba reaccionó y sacó su espada, y la oreja
le cortó al criado del sacerdote.
JUDAS (CHORUS & SOLO)
Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he!

MARK (SOLO 1-3)
And while Jesus yet spake, cometh Judas, and with
him a great multitude with swords and staves. From
the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Judas
gave the signal: Master, sayeth the betrayer. Judas
approached. Master, he said, and kissed him. And
they laid their lands on him, and took him. And one
of them that stood by drew a sword, and cut off the
ear of a servant of the high priest.

139
JESÚS (SOLO 1-3)
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué vinieron ustedes? ¿Por
qué espadas y garrotes? ¿Acaso soy un ladrón?

JESÚS (CORO)
¡Ah! ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué? No vinieron en el tiempo
cuando enseñaba en el templo, pero así es como está
escrito.

JESUS (SOLO 1-3)
Why? Why? Are ye come out, as against a thief, with
swords and with staves to take me?

JESUS (CHORUS)
Ah! Why? Why?
I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye
took me not: but the scriptures must be fulfilled.
No. 21: Danza de la Sábana Blanca (Dance of the White Sheet)

Instrumental

[Entonces todos huyeron dejando solo a Jesús. Pero
un joven lo seguía, en sábana envuelto el cuerpo, y
cuando a este lo prendieron la sabana soltó y así
desnudo se escapó.]

Instrumental

[And they all forsook him, and fled. And there
followed him a certain young man, having a linen
cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men
laid hold on him. And he left the linen cloth, and fled
from them naked.]
No. 22: Ante Caifás (Before Caiaphas)

CAIFÁS (CORO 1)
¿Es verdad que eres el Cristo, el hijo de Dios
Bendito?

MARCOS (SOLO 1-3)
Lo trajeron a Jesús a la casa de Caifás. Allí se
hallaban reunidos los ancianos y los escribas. Pedro
le iba siguiendo hasta que al patio llegó. Se sentó con
los criados junot al fuego se quedó. Toda la junta
buscaba prueba para la condena:

TESTIGOS (CORO 2)
Yo el templo destruiré y en tres días otro haré.

MARCOS (SOLO 1-4)
Buscaban y no encontraban, aunque cien testificaban.
Declararon y mintieron. Así es como lo acusaron al
decir que lo escucharon. Caifás se levantó y a Jesús le
preguntó:

CAIFÁS (CORO)
¿Es verdad que eres el Cristo el hijo de Dios
Bendito?

CAIAPHAS (CHORUS 1)
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

MARK (SOLO 1-3)
And they led Jesus to the high priest and with him
were assembled all the chief priests and the elders
and the scribes. And Peter followed him from afar
off, even into the court of the palace. And he sat with
the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. And the
chief priests and all the council sought to test the
statement:

WITNESSES (CHORUS 2)
I will destroy the temple that is made with hands, and
within three days I will build another made without
hands.

MARK (SOLO 1-4)
They searched and found none, even among one
hundred witnesses. They declared, and bore false
witness. For many accused him by repeating what
they had heard. And Caiaphas stood up in the midst
and asked Jesus:

CAIAPHAS (CHORUS)
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

140
No. 23: Soy yo (Confesión) I am (Confession)

JESÚS
Sí, soy yo, y al hijo del hombre ya verán sentado en
el trono a derecha del poder, envuelto en las nubes
del cielo viniendo.

JESUS
I Am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the
right hand of the Almighty, and coming in the clouds
of heaven.
No. 24: Escarnio y Negación (Scorn and Denial)

[Algunos comenzaron a escupirlo, a taparle los ojos
y le decían:]

CORO 1 & 2
Oh! Él es culpable: ¡A morir, sí!

¡Jesús Cristo! Ya no puedes ver!
Profetizador, adivínanos pues quién te pego.

[Pedro estaba em el pátio y llegó una de las criadas
del jefe de los sacerdotes, lo vio ye le dijo:]

CRIADA (MUJERES)
Tú también vas con el de Nazareth.

PEDRO (HOMBRES)
No, yo no.

[Y saliendo fuera del patio cantó el gallo.]

CRIADA (MUJERES)
Tú también…

PEDRO (HOMBRES)
No, yo no.

[Y el gallo cantó por segunda vez y Pedro se acordó
de lo que le dijo Jesús y lloró.]

[And some began to spit on him, and to cover his
face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him:]

CHORUS 1 & 2
He is guilty: to the death!

Jesus Christ! Thou canst not see. Prophesy, divine
who did strike thee.

[And as Peter was in the courtyard, there came one
of the maids of the high priests: And she saw him,
and said:]

MAID (WOMEN)
And thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth.

PETER (MEN)
No, not I.

[And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.]

MAID (WOMEN)
And thou also…

PETER (MEN)
No, not I.

[And the cock crew a second time. And Peter
remembered what Jesus had said to him, and wept.]

No. 25: Desgarro de la Túnica (Tearing of the Garment)

CORO
¡Oh, Jesús!

[Entonces el sacerdote se rasgó las vestiduras: Basta
ya que no haya más testigos, y la blasfemia ustedes
han oído. ¿Entonces qué les parece?]

CHORUS
Oh, Jesus!

[Then the high priest rent his raiment: it is enough,
wherefore need we more witnesses? You have heard
the blasphemy, what is your judgment?]

141
No. 26: Lúa Descolorida (Aria de las lágrimas de Pedro)
Colorless Moon (Aria of Peter’s Tears)

Poema en Gallego de Rosalía de Castro

PEDRO
Lúa descolorida como cor de ouro páldio, vesme i eu
nonquixera me vises de tan alto. Ó espazo que
recorres, lévame, caladinha, nun teu raio.

Astro das almas ofas, lúa descolorida, eu bem sei que
n’alumas. Tristeza cal a miña. Vai, contalo ó teu
dono, e dille que me leve adonde habita.

Mais non lle contes nada, descolorida lúa, pois nin
neste nin noustros mundos terei fortuna. Se sabe onde
a morte tem a morada escura, dille que corpo e elama
xuntamente me leve adonde non recorden nunca, nin
no mundo em que estou nin nas alturas.

Galician poem by Rosalía de Castro

PETER
Colorless moon, like the color of pale gold: You see
me here and I wouldn’t like you to see me from the
heights above. Take me, silently, in your ray to the
space of your journey.

Star of the orphan souls, colorless moon: I know that
you do not shed light on sadness as sad as mine. Go
and tell it to your master and tell him to take me to
his place.

But don’t tell him anything, moon, colorless, because
my fate won’t change here or in other worlds. If you
know where Death has its dark mansion, tell her to
take my body and soul together to a place where I
won’t be remembered, not in this world, not in the
heights above.

No. 27: Amanecer: Ante Pilato (Morning: Before Pilate)

MARCOS (CORO)
Al amanecer: los jefes de los sacerdotes, los
ancianos, los escribas, los maestros de la ley, toda la
junta suprema a Jesús ataron y lo llevaron ante Pilato.
Pilato preguntó:

PILATO (CORO 1)
¿Es verdad? ¿Dicen que eres tú? ¿Tú el rey de los
Judíos?

JESÚS (CORO 2)
Tú lo dices.

PILATO (CORO 1)
¿Callas? ¿Callas? ¿Y no dices nada?

[Y Jesús no contestó — Pilato se extrañó.]
MARK (CHORUS)
And straightway in the morning the chief priests, the
elders and scribes, the teachers, and the whole
council, bound Jesus, and delivered him to Pilate.
And Pilate asked him:

PILATE (CHORUS 1)
Art thou he? Art thou the King of the Jews?

JESUS (CHORUS 2)
Thou sayest it.

PILATE (CHORUS 1)
Art thou silent? Answerest thou nothing?

[And Jesus did not answer — Pilate was amazed.]

No. 28: Silencio (Silence)

Flamenco zapateado y cajón

Flamenco foot-stomping with cajón

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No. 29: Sentencia (Sentence)

Instrumental

[Ya durante la fiesta, Pilato preguntó: “Y qué quieren
que haga con el que ustedes llaman el rey de los
Judios?” Y la multitud respondió: “¡Crucifícalo!”
Pilato preguntó: “¿Y a Barrabás?” Y la multitud
respondió: “¡Suéltalo!”

Instrumental

[Because of the festival, Pilate said to them, “What
will ye then that I shall do unto him who ye call the
King of the Jews?” And they cried out again,
“Crucify him!” Pilate said, “And Barrabas?” And the
multitude cried, “Free him!”
No. 30: Comparsa al Gólgotha (To Golgotha)

[Y le golpeaban la cabeza con una vara, lo escupían y
le hacían reverencias]

MULTITUD (CORO 1 & 2)
Ya nos vamos al Gólgotha a crucificar al rey, muerte
al rey, es el fin.

¡Salve! ¡Viva el rey de los Judíos!
¡Cristo rey, viva Cristo!

¡Él salvó a los otros, pero él mismo va a morir!

¡Muerte al rey de los Judíos!
¡Salve, Cristo, sálvate a ti mismo!

[And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did
spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped
him.]

THE CROWD (CHORUS 1 & 2)
Let us go to Golgotha and crucify the King, death to
the King, this is the end.

Hail to the King of the Jews! Hail to Christ the King!

He helped others, but he himself will die.

Death to the King of the Jews! Hail, Christ, save
thyself!
No. 31: Danza de la Sábana Púrpura – Manto Sagrado (Dance of the Holy Purple Robe)

Instrumental

[Con capa púrpura lo envolvieron, corona de espinas
le pusieron.]

Instrumental

[With the purple robe they did clothe him, a crown of
thorns did they set upon his head.]
No. 32: Crucifixión (Crucifixion)

MULTITUD (CORO)
¡Baja Jesús! ¡Baja de la Cruz para que Israel pueda
creer!
¡Muerte al rey de los Judíos!
¡Salve, Cristo rey! ¡Sálvate a ti mismo!
Vamos al Gólgotha a crucificar al rey, este es el fin.

¡Muere Cristo! ¡Muere al rey de los Judíos!
¡Muere ya, Cristo rey, crucificado!

THE CROWD (CHORUS)
Descend, Jesus, descend from the Cross, so that Israel
may believe!
The King of the Jews dies!
Hail, King of the Jews! Save thyself!
Let us go to Golgotha and crucify the King, this is the
end.

Christ dies! The King of the Jews dies!
Christ the King dies now, crucified!

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No. 33: Muerte (Death)

[Y en la hora sexta hubo tinieblas sobre la tierra y a
la novena clamó Jesús:]

JESÚS
Elohí, Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?

[Así Jesús con grito expiró y el velo del templo de
arriba a abajo en dos se rasgó]

[And when the sixth hour was come, there was
darkness over the whole land. And at the ninth hour
Jesus cried:]

JESUS
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

[And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the
ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom
No. 34: Kadish
ECO DEL GRITO DE MUERTE (MUJERES)
Elohí, Elohí ¿Lama Shabachtani?

LA VOZ DE LOS CIELOS (HOMBRES)
Tú eres él, mi hijo amado, yo a ti te elegí

JEREMÍAS
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte
si est dolor sicut dolor meus.

CORO & SOLO (en arameo)
¡Ytgadal VeYtkaddash Sh’meh Rabbáh, Amen!
Yhié Shme Rabbáh Mebaraj Lealam Yl’Almey
Almayá
Ytbaraj VeYshtabaj Veytpaar VeYtromam VeYtnasé
VeYtadar VeYtaalé VeYthalal Shmeh Dekudeshá
Brij Hu.

LeAlmá Min Kol Birjatá VeShiratá
Tsuhbejatá Venejematá,
Damirán VeAlmá
VeYmru: Amen.

ECHO OF THE CRY OF DEATH (WOMEN)
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

VOICE FROM HEAVEN (MEN)
Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

JEREMIAH
Is it nothing to you, all ye who pass by?
Behold, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like
unto my sorrow.

CHORUS & SOLO (Aramaic)
May his great Name grow exalted and sanctified,
Amen!
May his great Name be blessed forever and ever.
Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, mighty,
upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One.

Blessed is He beyond any blessing and song, praise
and consolation that are uttered in the world. And
say: Amen.

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APPENDIX B: OSVALDO GOLIJOV INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

July 9, 2020

Gee: My first question is a broad one. What is Latin American Christianity to you?

Golijov: I think it is important to highlight that the first time Helmuth Rilling asked me I said
“no”, because I always felt very Jewish and felt that the text of Passion had been used for anti-
semitic purposes. But I love Rilling. I think he is such a deep and visionary man, and he said “the
only condition is that you used the text.” Then I approached it as openly as I could be, being
open to believing that Jesus was the Messiah. It’s not like writing sonata, right? You have to be
open.

It was interesting because on one hand there was a fear of all the history of the Passions,
especially John, being used for anti-semitism. On the other hand, there was a suspicion from my
Jewish education. Many times I would ask my teachers about Jesus, and they would say that he
just repeated what Hillel said. And I said that it could not be just that!

It was like being homeless. In learning about the Passion, I realized that of course Jesus was
influenced by Hillel, but he completely changed the paradigm. He was an absolute original. I
remain Jewish but I believe he was very close to God, closer perhaps to the earlier rabbis because
of that change of paradigm.

Now, the history of Christianity in Latin America, and that was the mission that Rilling gave me:
“you have to reflect how the story of the Passion is lived and reflected in Latin America.” How is
it different than in Germany? You know of Wolfgang Rihm’s Passion with Paul Celan; he had to
deal with the Holocaust. For me I had to deal with slavery, with the killing of the natives, and
with a lot of things that have been done in the name of Christianity historically, as well as the
development of Santería and all the religions that have layers to hide, which reminds me of the
Jews who had to hide their practices.

There is a really difficult history, and at the same time a tremendously uplifting one. I have been
talking historically about the colonizers and so forth, but growing up as a teenager, you may
know that there was a very bloody dictatorship. It was really very interesting that the archbishop
of Buenos Aires blessed the weapons of the dictators, with which the dictators killed many low-
ranking priests. The history of Jesus was repeated. It was not the collective guilt of the
Argentinian people in the same way that people say it was the collective guilt of the Jews for
killing Christ, but the hierarchy was aligned with the power and the low-ranking priests were
being killed. It was horrible, but it was also beautiful to see the courage of the priests, and also to
see the courage of the mothers of the disappeared. So, it is also important to note that women are
important in this Passion because when men were cowards, women were brave. So, I wanted to
deal with all of that, with the history, the cruelty, the amazing things, everything.

Gee: So, you believe that what people might call syncretistic variations, such as Santería, are
actually integral to the landscape of Latin American Christianity?

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Golijov: Yes, but I think the story of the Passion is also syncretistic. Jesus becomes the lamb that
is eaten during passover. Syncretism is a little bit like Ovid’s Metamorphosis: things morph.
And in Latin America, it’s incredible how paganism and Yorubanism began a different thing.

Gee: From all that you’ve said, that is quite a lot to pull together. There are so many elements,
perhaps even controversial ones. Yet, my sense is you’re trying more to describe than to
prescribe.

Golijov: Absolutely. I think that’s true. Especially, I choose to describe because of my position
as both an insider and an outsider. I’m a Jew, but I was the only Jew in my public school, so I
grew up among Catholics. I was a little scared of them but also curious.

I love Rembrandt. Rembrandt found a truth in Judaism by living in the neighborhood with the
Jews, but he was not Jewish. Well, I’m not Rembrandt, with that caliber of talent, but I can find
some truth. I think that’s what Rilling was curious about: what kind of truth could I find that a
Christian composer would not find? When you have a very good friend and you go to their
house, you see dysfunctionalities in the family that they don’t see because they are a part of it.

Gee: On that note, would you then encourage composers who don’t necessarily identify as
Christians to nonetheless still write sacred music, since they would have a unique perspective?

G: Yeah, though first of all, that has already happened. It doesn’t matter whether I encourage or
discourage; people will do what they will do! But yeah, I was just listening to Morricone, who
just died. He was a communist, but he wrote a mass for Pope Francis. I think music in itself is
sacred. In Hebrew, the word for sacred, kadosh, is used in the same way as the word for
dedication. So, any music that is done with dedication is sacred; that’s what I feel. There’s so
much concentration and dedication to create something, which by its own nature is sacred. Even
if it’s tango or rap, by someone not thinking about religion, it might not be religious, but it’s
sacred.

Gee: As you sought to describe Latin American Christianity in all its variety, what did you want
audiences to take away?

Golijov: I wanted to do a piece that has moments of great intimate connection with what I think
Jesus was feeling, but also have a very panoramic view that there are aspects of the story that I
wanted to see as if I came from a different planet. These are really strange people. I’m not just
talking about the Christians, but about the human species. This ritual of the crucifixion, the mob,
and the fear — I wanted to create a great canvas, but also have moments like the Agonía in
Gethsemane or the Kaddish at the end, or the aria of Peter. These all connect in how I interpret
the story.

Gee: As I study your Passion more, I’ve begun to describe it as almost existentialist. In Bach’s
Passions, there is a lot of talking about Jesus and commenting about him, yet your first thing is
to put the audience in his shoes, as it were, on the cross.

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Golijov: In one fundamental way, my passion is the exact opposite of Bach because there is zero
commentary. In Bach, it’s all commentary. The beauty of it is the reflection. My passion is
almost all action and passion (in the sense of suffering!).

Gee: That actually fits well with Mark, because his Gospel, compared to others, is mostly action
and has the least amount of commentary.

Golijov: Exactly! Mark is very short. In the same way that Bach adds text and expands and
comments, I compress. I concentrate, for instance, on the word, “¿por qué?” By repeating it
endlessly it’s almost childlike wonder: “Why? Why? Why would these people betray their friend
and teacher? Why this bloody thing? Why? ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué?”

Yet in Spanish, “why” and “because” are the same word. So, “why?” “porque esta escrito.”
That’s how it’s written. It’s crazy. I try to reuse and compress and to find those words that are
both the question and the answer at the same time. Also, these words are pure rhythm. Stravinsky
spoke about using Latin purely as sound and rhythm. Language is telling a story, or even more
living a story in its rhythm.

You know I took many different translations, some very low-class translations. In Argentina,
where I grew up, when people would want to sell you something in the subway or on the buses,
they would put a little Gospel on your lap. I was already here, but I asked my family members to
get me some of those. I didn’t want to use any translations that were “academic” or “high”
theology, so to speak. Once I got them, I also tried to phrase things in such a way that is not so
much common in Spanish, where most words have stress on the second to last syllable. I put the
stress on the end for musical reasons. So, I did use the language as a musical element.

Gee: Let’s shift to some of the criticisms of your use of certain genres, particular so-called
“popular” genres, such as samba or the comparsa scene. Many people, believing the crucifixion
to be a somber and serious event, wondered why you use these “popular” and “happy” genres. Of
course, this reveals a limited cultural understanding of these genres, but I wanted to know how
you would respond.

Golijov: I wonder if in the climate of today those critics would be embarrassed of having said
that. First of all, dance is a profoundly spiritual thing. In Latin America, dance is a spiritual
manifestation. Even samba, which has been called a “fun, party” thing, is very deep, as well as
some of the other genres associated with capoeira. Where can you really put the frontier between
sacred and profane? In Cuba, from the batá to the son montuno, you have a continuum. I think it
is really so sad to deny the body. It is a denial of the body when you think that you can only
connect with God by sitting or standing still. Whereas in fact you can connect with God
dancing! There’s a big difference in the processionals in Spain from those in Latin America. In
Spain, the Easter processionals are very austere. When they were transposed to Cuba and
Venezuela, they were crazy but they didn’t lose their sacredness. How can you deny parts of the
human experience? How can you be so arrogant to give yourself the authority to say this is
spiritual and this is not?

147
Gee: Yes, and it seems particularly arrogant to make those judgments for genres in cultures
outside of your own.

Golijov: Yeah, it baffles me.

Gee: Relating to your point about the importance of embodiment, one thing I write about in my
dissertation is the use of ritual, and connected to that is your use of silence. You don’t have
recitatives relating the whole story, but instead much of it is performed in a ritualistic way
without words. There are several points where you include text in the program, but there’s not
text spoken or sung.

Golijov: Right. Like, for instance, the silence of Jesus. The two trials are so different. In the trial
in Caiaphas’s house, “are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus replies, “Yeah!” But in the trial
before Pilate, it seems like both of them are so scared of the monumentality of the moment.
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You say.”
“Why do you stay silent?”

You’ve seen the number with the clapping? This is also the silence of Jesus, but it’s the silence
of absolute rage. The rhythms are cante hondo rhythms, which were used by the Roma people
living in Spain, many times by those condemned to death. That is the rage of those unjustly
sentenced to death.

For Bach, who is beyond us, it is all about the harmony. Here, it’s about the rhythm and the
percussion instruments. It’s a different way of narrating and telling the story. The Batás are
talking drums; they tell stories. I wanted to do something really Latin American. It was difficult
because Brazil, Argentina and Cuba do not have much in common.

Gee: Silence definitely plays a big role, including the silent woman at Bethany, as well as how
you set the sentencing, as a conversation between two drum ensembles. Can you spell out your
choice for doing that?

Golijov: First of all, this has to do with the fact that, at least in Venezuela, where the chorus is
from, everyone knows the story. They know it by heart. That allows me to tell the entire story
with Jesus mutating from character to character to the chorus. I don’t know if you’ve ever read
The Autumn of the Patriarch? Even if you can just read the first chapter, that was a big
inspiration. The figure of the Latin American dictator is so universal in Latin America that they
all resemble each other, so that he can do that stream of consciousness. The Passion was so well
known so that I could afford to have Jesus at one point be the guitar, and another time a woman,
and another time the entire chorus, and another time a man.

But back to your question about the sentencing. I felt people knew the story well enough to be
able to set it in that way, but also so that it would prepare the last cycle with Golgotha and the
crucifixion.

148
Gee: Watching the DVD, onstage acting also plays a key role. Jesus is actually on stage, he dies,
and so forth. I know in another interview you mentioned the choreography developed
organically, but was that always an intention to have action on stage? Does that make it more
embodied?

Golijov: It’s interesting. I had only one vision in my head, which was the berimbau player being
trapped in the net: the fisherman being fished. I wanted Reynaldo, the Afro-Cuban dancer, to
sing, but he had never sung in public, though he is a great dancer. First, it was the episode when
Jesus was arrested, and while everyone flees there is one young man caught in a white sheet. I
said, “instead of saying the words why don’t we have a dance with capoeira.” Then, there was
the rage of Jesus before Caiaphas when he says “yes, I am.” I think Reynaldo himself said that he
could do something, and that was great. And then the crucifixion, it’s already like Brecht or
street theater. It’s to show that there are elements that are so pagan and resonant with lynchings.
To have that dance to me was important, though the parts of the dance are meant to literally
portray what is written.

I wanted to portray when people, who have feelings and thoughts, become a mob and are part of
a lynching. It’s horrible, but it’s part of who we are. And then to have the contrast with “What
has happened?” and to have the death and the Kaddish, which is basically one moment
reverberating; it reverberates until today. There are some moments in life that just happen and
pass. And then there are moments in the life of one person that are there forever. And there are
moments in the history of the entire planet, or at least the entire West, that stay forever, and
that’s one of them. So, I wanted to go from a place where time is the time of a mob, where you
lose consciousness in a bad way, to the sudden realization, “Wow, this has happened, and it will
reverberate forever.”

Gee: I love how in your Passion the line between what is acted, what is embodied and what is
spoken is so fluid. And that’s how human life is; we don’t just talk, but we have body language,
and so forth. And what you said at the end about the stunned silence actually fits the ending of
Mark’s Gospel, or at least the shorter ending that most scholars take, where the women at the
tomb are left in stunned silence.

Golijov: I do love the ending, that and the Agony are probably my favorite parts.

Gee: Shifting gears a bit, I wanted to ask you about your borrowing of material from other
sources, such as the protest song. I have no doubt you could have written your own material for
that, but you chose to borrow and allude to other things. That’s not something that composers
always do, so what led you to do that?

Golijov: For “Demos Gracias,” the text says they sang psalms after supper. I took lines from
those psalms that to me were appropriate for what the apostles had just heard from Jesus, “one of
you will betray me, and I will be killed, as it has been written.” It is the feeling of absolute fear.
“Even if I am overcome by fear and am afraid, I will give thanks to the Lord.” There’s this song
by Victor Heredia, “Todavía Cantamos,” which is exactly that. It was in the middle of the
dictatorship. People were being killed left and right. It’s a very powerful song: “we still sing, we

149
still sing.” The idea is like “Even if they fill my body with holes of bullets, I will still be
singing.” So, I said, why not use the tune? So, I bought the rights for the song to adapt it.

Gee: Do you think allusion to other things is an overlooked tool for composers because we are
so into “original” music?

Golijov: Yeah, especially if you recharge the meaning of the allusion. You can’t just take; you
have to give back. I really think it’s an essential thing for music to keep growing. That’s how
music evolves. Brahms takes from Beethoven and makes it different, and Beethoven from
Haydn, and so on. There are very few pieces that are completely original.

To me, originality has a good origin, but was co-opted by capitalism and is now just about
making money, such as keeping rights, and all of that. Originality is only now being considered,
especially in academia, this wonderful concept. I don’t have the time or the brains, but I have
the feeling that originality has more to do with capitalism than with aesthetic or philosophical
concerns.

And you see for the great creators, at the end of their lives they often want to be part of history.
Bergman, the filmmaker, said that he just wanted to be remembered as “one of the guys.” If
humankind is a cathedral, I did some of the gargoyles, but not to be full of myself; we are just
one more link in a chain and that’s all.

Gee: Two last questions. I’m fascinated by where people choose to start their Passion. You have
the vision, but as for when you start with the actual Gospel text, you start with Jesus’ Olivet
discourse where he says “Watch out! Be awake for the Lord coming.” That’s such a mysterious
line when it comes out of nowhere. What made you pick that?

Golijov: In my head I had this musical and visual idea. I would have three choruses, imagining
that they are three villages coming from three mountains and converging in a valley, all singing
the same song, but with the canons eventually becoming unison. That will start the ritual, the
ritual action. It’s like something monumental is going to happen.

Gee: Yes, definitely, and there’s the huge theological question about what the coming of the
Lord means. For many in the first century, it meant a military takeover and kicking out the
Romans. And yet, in the Christian understanding, Jesus’ vision of his kingdom is one in which
he dies for the sins of humanity. So, there is that mysterious question of what the coming of the
Lord will look like.

Golijov: Yeah, for me it was the coming of truth, the terrifying truth of life.

Gee: Right, and I could see in a Latin American context that could be particularly powerful, with
the common people saying to the dictators, “Watch out, the truth is coming.”

150
Jumping to the end, for the last movement, the Kaddish, you combine it with the “O vos omnes.”
You’re layering these different meanings, traditions and languages. What made you end in this
way?

Golijov: The Kaddish is as close as I could get to the idea of resurrection. I still don’t believe in
physical resurrection or any kind of personal resurrection. But I believe that life overcomes
death, and the Kaddish is extraordinary because it is recited or sung as an expression of
compassion and love for the departed and the word death is not pronounced. It is a hymn to God
and the continuity of life. It is praise, not just beyond words, but beyond music and sound.

So the Kaddish was for me to say, “How can I honestly say how I feel?” I feel the Kaddish is a
pretty extraordinary prayer because of that contradiction of being sad at the grave but without
mentioning the dead and death. That is really powerful. At the same time, it acknowledges the
suffering inflicted on Jesus and the people of Latin American with the “O vos omnes.”

Gee: Well, thank you! I really appreciate your time.

Golijov: My pleasure, this is super interesting. I’m very grateful. And be honest, be critical – it’s
just me! Do what you have to do.

Gee: I appreciate that. Last question: do you have anything you wanted to say or add?

Golijov: You know, today it’s been twenty years. I can tell you a lot of things that I remember,
but I almost remember as if someone else wrote it. It’s like when you look at a picture of
yourself twenty years ago and realize “Wow, I was a kid! What was I thinking?” So, I like the
piece. I remember it being a huge effort and a great experience. But twenty years is twenty years.
Now the piece has to defend itself.

Gee: Wonderful, thank you so much.

Golijov: You too, Daniel. I wish you the best and hope you have fun finishing the project.

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RECORDINGS

Golijov, Osvaldo. La Pasión según San Marcos. Deutsche Grammophon, CD Recording, 2010

Golijov, Osvaldo. La Pasión según San Marcos. Deutsche Grammophon, DVD Performance,
2008

SCORES

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Johannes-Passion BWV 245. New York: Barenreiter, 1973.

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Matthäus-Passion BWV 244. New York: Barenreiter, 1974.

Golijov, Osvaldo. La Pasión según San Marcos. New York: Hendon Music, 2000.

Gubaidulina, Sofia. Johannes-Passion. Sikorski Musikverlage Hamburg, 2000.

Penderecki, Krzysztof. Passio et Mors Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Secundum Lucam. Celle,
Germany: Moeck Verlag, 1967.

Rihm, Wolfgang. Deus Passus: Passions-Stücke nach Lukas. UE 31 536. Vienna: Universal
Edition, 2000.

Tan Dun. Water Passion After St. Matthew. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 2000.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This dissertation provides a theological commentary on the entirety of Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos. While reception toward La Pasión has been largely positive, both positive and negative reviews by critics and scholars alike reveal a lack of theological knowledge, whether in the conclusions they draw, or in the largely unexamined presuppositions that they hold. In particular, critics seem to be unaware of the unique cultural and theological context of Latin American Christianity that undergirds much of Golijov’s work. The analysis in this dissertation not only seeks to serve as a corrective to this, but also to demonstrate the fruitfulness of including theological analysis of a musical work alongside other more traditional forms of analysis. ❧ Given the goal of connecting theological traditions and ideas to a piece of music, the research for this dissertation was necessarily interdisciplinary. A significant portion surveys several commentaries on the Gospel of Mark, with the purpose of giving the reader significant understanding of the biblical text. While a project akin to the analytical work done by music theorists is not the primary goal for this dissertation, some analysis is necessary in order to sufficiently demonstrate the specific ways in which Golijov’s music resonates with the biblical text. Finally, the dissertation attempts some connections with theological traditions and ideas associated with the Latin American Church and theologians. As such, Golijov’s Passion is proposed to be itself a work of contextual theology with the following primary purpose: to embody, through the Markan account of Jesus’s death, the persistence of faith in the face of suffering and injustice, as particularly exemplified by the lives of Latin American Christians. It is fully acknowledged that this need not be the only reading of the work

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Asset Metadata

Creator Gee, Daniel Jon (author)

Core Title Osvaldo Golijov's La Pasión según San Marcos: a theological commentary

School Thornton School of Music

Degree Doctor of Musical Arts

Degree Program Choral Music

Publication Date 11/29/2020

Defense Date 10/28/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag La Pasión según San Marcos,liberation theology,OAI-PMH Harvest,Osvaldo Golijov,Passion 2000,Passion setting,St. Mark Passion,Theology

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Sparks, Tram (committee chair), Grases, Cristian (committee member), Work, Telford (committee member)

Creator Email danielgeemusic@gmail.com,dgee@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-396201

Unique identifier UC11668077

Identifier etd-GeeDanielJ-9160.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-396201 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GeeDanielJ-9160.pdf

Dmrecord 396201

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Gee, Daniel Jon

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA