La Pasión según San Marcos

work by Golijov

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July 20, 2026

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La Pasión según San Marcos is a musical work by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov, completed in 2000. It is a setting of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of Mark, presented in a Latin American style. Commissioned by the Bach Academy in Stuttgart, Germany, to honor the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach's death, Golijov's work draws on diverse influences, including Jewish liturgical music, Latin American dance forms, and Middle Eastern songs, alongside Western classical traditions. This piece is an example of modern Passion music, a genre that sets the biblical account of Christ's suffering and crucifixion to music, with historical roots dating back to the 4th century.12

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Osvaldo Golijov
…2000 Golijov received acclaim for La Pasión según San Marcos (“St. Mark’s Passion”), a Latin American setting of the Passion commissioned by the Bach Academy in Stuttgart, Germany, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death. Upshaw sang and recorded Ayre (2004), a cycle that included Arab, Hebrew,…
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…2000 Golijov received acclaim for La Pasión según San Marcos (“St. Mark’s Passion”), a Latin American setting of the Passion commissioned by the Bach Academy in Stuttgart, Germany, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death. Upshaw sang and recorded Ayre (2004), a cycle that included Arab, Hebrew,…
Read More