''Passio et Mors Domini Nostri Iesu Christi secundum Lucam'' by Krzysztof Penderecki - a work for three solo voices, narrator, boys' choir, three mixed choirs and symphony orchestra, dedicated to the composer's wife Elizabeth, - was written between 1962-65 in response to a commission from Westdeutschen Rundfunk to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Münster Cathedral. In taking up the subject of the passion and death of Christ in his Passion According to St. Luke, the composer drew upon the rich tradition of the Latin liturgy. The text of the Passion was taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke and supplemented by three excerpts from the Gospel according to St. John, important from the point of view of the dramaturgy of the whole. The choice of the key events of the gospel story and the omission of a number of marginal figures and motives have resulted in a considerable condensation of the text, the reduction of the narrative part of the Evangelist amounting to its dramatisation. Selected verses from important liturgical texts, set to music many times, such as the sequence Stabat Mater, the hymn Vexilla Regis (''O crux''), the Improperia Popule meus, or the antiphons ''Crux fidelis'' and ''Ecce lignum crucis, function'' as a commentary on the successive scenes. The musical language of the Passion combines tradition and modernity in a peculiar way: traditional sound material and unconventional timbres; quasi-tonal references and the twelve-tone technique; contrapuntal techniques derived from the Renaissance and the modern sonoristic techniques (e.g. clusters). The main motives and themes of the Passion are derived from two, artistically constructed, twelve-note series, in which the intervals of the third, minor second and tritone have a special function. The last four notes of the second series form the b-a-c-h motif, functioning as the thematic basis of several sections of the work, including the expanded Passacaglia Popule meus. The motive may be interpreted as a symbolic homage paid by the contemporary composer to his great predecessor. Although Penderecki's Passion is divided into two parts in accordance with baroque traditions, the caesura occurs at a different point from that of Bach's passions. In addition, fewer events are included, as the first part of the Passion starts with the scene of Jesus' Prayer at Gethsemane and ends with the great scene of Christ's trial; the second part opens with the Way to Golgotha and closes with the Death on the Cross. In the Evangelist's distinctive part, which is recited (and not sung in the form of the recitative as in a baroque passion), the tone of objective narrative is intensified, although there are moments in which the narrator, carried away by his emotions, seems to accompany the action. At the dramatic level as well there are references to the tradition of the genre: e.g. Christ's part is intended for a low voice (baritone) and in the dramatic tuba parts there occurs a clear amplification of the high register. The movements commenting on successive scenes are highly diverse. In scoring they range from the purely instrumental (lament at Figure 26) to arias for solo voices, sometimes with the participation of the choir (Deus meus), and expanded movements involving the participation of the soloists, choir and orchestra (e.g. Popule meus). The range of expression incorporates prayerful meditation (Miserere; Iudica me, Deus), lyrical cantabile singing (Domine, quis habitabit; Crux fidelis) and dramatised lament. Finally, with regard to form, use is made of short, through-composed forms and reprise structures, as well as expanded forms such as passacaglia. The framework of the Passion is clear. The introductory chorus O crux functions as an exposition, in which the main motives and sound structures as well as the subject of the work are presented, and it symbolically starts the rite. At the close the expanded Psalm ''In Te Domine speravi'' characteristically recapitulates the main motives and threads. The internal integration of the work is intensified by a complex system of anticipations and repetitions of important motives, among which the motive Domine, running throughout the work and closed with the minor third e-g, is prominent. Its symbolic transformation into a major third (E major) in the finale of the work emphasises the general message of hope. Krzysztof Penderecki's Passion occupies a special place in twentieth-century music. On the one hand, it is a thoroughly modern work, on the other - it forms part of the great tradition of sacred music in European culture. Together with the two-part Matins (part I. The Entombment of Christ; part II. Resurrection) it forms a paschal triptych, which - drawing upon the different kinds of spirituality of East and West - emphasises the universal ecumenical dimension of the event standing at the heart of Christianity. [Regina Chłopicka, translated by Ewa Cholewka]