A new work, Passia, that tells the story of the crucifixion from the perspective of women at the foot of the cross, will be premiered during Holy Week. 

The work is written by Ivors award winner Liz Dilnot Johnson, and commissioned and performed by the all-female professional consort Papagena.

Passia is a unique and radical cantata for women’s voices. The piece explores the emotional landscape of women witnessing violence, allowing women’s voices to be heard, reflecting today’s unsettled world.

The five professional singers of Papagena each represent one of the principal female characters of the crucifixion: Mary, Christ’s mother; Mary Magdalen; Veronica; and sisters Martha and Mary. 

The five characters tell the story in real time; the women sing out hopes and fears, share their memories and reveal inner responses to the shocking events as they unfold, ending with Mary holding the broken body of her son. A chorus of angels, sung by an upper voice choir, flutters and floats above the human tragedy, contrasting darkness with light.

Passia is written by Liz Dilnot Johnson (b.1964) a composer whose choral and vocal writing ranges from extraordinary miniatures like Blake Reimagined to large-scale, multi-faceted cantatas and the Requiem When A Child Is A Witness - Requiem for Refugees that was awarded the Ivors Composer Award for Community and Participation in 2022. Johnson is composer-in-residence with Ex Cathedra, the renowned Birmingham-based choir. 

Johnson has been working with Papagena since 2024 to develop the score for Passia, working with each solo voice to find distinctive and compelling vocal lines, as well as exploring the sonority of the consort as a whole. 

Passia creates a diverse tapestry including words by the composer herself that draw from a libretto originally created by author Sarah Meyrick. The diverse texts range across time, from the prayers of 9th century Byzantine Abbess Kassia and a visceral description of the crucifixion by 14th century visionary Julian of Norwich, to tender poetry by British-Ukrainian poet Neta Shlain, medieval plainchant by St Thomas Aquinas and traditional Jewish and Palestinian words and music.

Papagena’s soprano Margaret Lingas introduced Johnson to the work of the 9th century Byzantine composer Kassia, who is well-known in Eastern Christian traditions, but less so in the West. Kassia’s passionate evocation The Woman Fallen Into Many Sins is still sung by many in the Orthodox Christian world today at a high point of Holy Wednesday Matins and this has been adapted by Johnson to create a sensuous duet for Margaret Lingas and Suzzie Vango in Passia.

The Four Angel Songs for upper voice choir were also inspired by Kassia’s words, specifically the distinctive syllables of medieval intonations used to orientate the singers within a particular mode, sometimes described as ‘angelic song’.

Three upper voice choirs will be performing alongside Papagena: The National Children’s Choir of Great Britain at Great Malvern Priory, University of Warwick Upper Voices with Encoro at the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, and the choristers of Christchurch Priory, Dorset. 

The world premiere of Passia takes place at Great Malvern Priory, with tickets costing £17or £8 for Under 18s. For tickets and details of all concerts, workshops and events, visit Papagena’s website.