The text known as the Berlin or Akhmim Codex, containing the Gospel of Mary, was purchased in 1896 from an antiquities market in Cairo and its full contents were not translated until 1955.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Composer Hugi Guðmundsson and his librettists Niels Brunse and Nila Parly lean into a feminist interpretation of the Gospel of Mary, as suggested by religious historian Karen L. King.
Recording & Production
This album is a world premiere recording of Hugi Guðmundsson's oratorio, "The Gospel of Mary."
Compositional Technique
Guðmundsson's oratorio follows the Baroque tradition of interspersing dramatizations of the Gospel text with movements that comment upon it, similar to Bach's St John and St Matthew Passions.
Compositional Technique
In the oratorio, Mary's parts are accompanied by soft strings and vibraphone, while Peter and Andrew's parts, as male antagonists, are accompanied by more violent figures for wind and brass.
Performer Biography
Schola Cantorum Reykjavicensis, founded by Hörður Áskelsson in 1996, has collaborated with artists like Björk and Sigur Rós, and contributed to the soundtrack of the video game God of War.
Composition History
Hugi Guðmundsson's oratorio, "The Gospel of Mary," was commissioned by the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society, Oslo International Church Music Festival, and Århus Sinfonietta.
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