Philip Moore's Via Crucis: Organ Meditation for Holy Week

Join us for this free performance of Philip Moore's organ meditation Via Crucis, paired with a Holy Week sermon by The Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano.

The Via Crucis, or the Way of the Cross, is a devotional practice based on the Via Dolorosa, the processional route in Jerusalem which symbolises the path Jesus walked with the cross on his journey to Calvary. The excercise is the basis of Eric Milner-White's A Procession of Passion Prayers (1950), which in turn inspired Philip Moore's set of 15 musical reflections. 

"There is a long history of both spiritual and musical responses to the Via Dolorosa which begin with Franciscan re-imaginings across Europe and continue to the present day. Some notable examples include Marcel Durpé’s Le chemin de la croix, David Bowie’s Station to Station, Pope John Paul II’s Scriptural Way of the Cross (1991), and Eric Milner-White’s A Procession of Passion Prayers (1950). Philip Moore’s own setting sits as an important part of this long tradition of responding to the Via Dolorosa, and, in using some of the prayers from Milner-White’s 1950 publication, creates a work which speaks to the future through the language of the past.” – Richard Moore (Organist)

This music is offered as a Cathedral service, and therefore admission is free and no booking is required. There will also be a sermon as part of our Holy Week series of addresses, given this year by The Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano.

"Philip Moore’s musical reflections beautifully capture the emotion and drama of these 15 readings... Organist Richard Moore gives virtuosic yet sensitive performances."
Church Music Quarterly, Review of 2022 recording

Richard Moore