Franz Joseph Aumann: Passion Oratorio

Featuring

Alois Mühlbacher
Markus Miesenberger
Alexandre Baldo
Fabio Alves Pereira
Kendrick Nsambang
Gunar Letzbor

Ars Antiqua Austria
St. Florianer Sängerknaben
Franz Joseph Aumann

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Interpretation

The recording uses a violone, a 16-foot bass instrument, for the bass line, which provides a powerful yet lean sound characteristic of the late Baroque church music of the period.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Unlike Protestant Passions, Aumann's Catholic Passion Oratorio focuses on the emotional impact of musical representations of mental states rather than a narrative of Christ's suffering.

Recording & Production

This recording of Aumann's Passion Oratorio was made possible by the generous support of the Monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine's Order at St. Florian.

Composition History

The complete vocal material for Aumann's Passion Oratorio was rediscovered in December 2021 by Gunar Letzbor, the artistic director of Ars Antiqua Austria, during research at St. Florian Abbey.

Compositional Technique

Aumann's Passion Oratorio showcases his skill in various forms, including large-scale arias in the Neapolitan style, unique recitative writing, counterpoint, and mastery of duets, trios, and choruses.

Composition History

Franz Joseph Aumann's "Oratorium de Passione Domini Nostri Jesu Christi" was considered lost, with only fragments believed to exist in the archives of the Augustinian monastery of St. Florian.

Compositional Technique

A unique feature of Aumann's Passion Oratorio is the inclusion of two arias with a virtuosic solo viola part, suggesting the composer himself may have played the instrument.