Via Crucis in Musical Form
Text Timo Raussi Photo Mixed Choir HUIK!
Although Estonia is one of the least religious countries in the world—according to the 2021 census, 16.3% identified as Orthodox Christians, and 7.7% as Lutherans—many people still pause during Easter to reflect on the core ideas of Christianity or to listen to sacred music.
On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, 2–3 April, visitors will also have the opportunity in Tallinn and Tartu to step into the atmosphere of the Via Crucis, or the Stations of the Cross. However, this is not an outdoor performance depicting Jesus’s final journey to crucifixion, but a choir concert of the same name, in which the music of composer Franz Liszt is complemented by visuals created by video artist Alyona Movko-Mägi.
The intense and condensed “Via Crucis” is one of Liszt’s most distinctive and final works. It portrays the last 14 events and hours of Jesus’s life, beginning with his condemnation, following the path to Golgotha, his crucifixion, and subsequent burial. Reflecting the dramatic nature of the subject, Liszt used a very clear, minimalist and evocative musical language. Because of its deep sense of inner peace, the composition has been described as one of Liszt’s absolute masterpieces.
Instead of the organ accompaniment typically used in church music, the performance by Mixed Choir HUIK! stands out by using a harmonium, as Liszt originally intended. However, he never heard the work performed, as his publisher at the time, in 1879, considered it too progressive. Liszt died seven years later, weakened by pneumonia and a heart attack, and “Via Crucis” was first performed only in 1929 on Good Friday in Budapest.
The concerts will take place in Tallinn at St Charles’ Church on Thursday 2 April at 19:00 and in Tartu at St Peter’s Church on Friday 3 April at 21:00. Tickets are available here.
The award-winning Mixed Choir HUIK!, which has reached the podium in international choir competitions three times in recent years, is joined by baritone Tamar Nugis of the Estonian National Opera as a soloist. The accompaniment is provided by Ulla Krigul, organist of the Finnish congregation in Tallinn, who was recently named one of the most significant younger-generation organ artists by the Estonian Performers Union.
To learn more about this and similar topicsChoir Concert Easter events music Tallinn Tartu Via Crucis
