Wouter Lenaerts

The Shadow Of Golgotha

Golgotha mountain is situated north-west of Jerusalem, just outside the old city. It is in fact the Hebrew name for 'the place of skulls' and it takes us back to the beginning of our times... The year 33. Emperor Tiberius rules over the enormous Roman Empire that stretches from Brittany to Egypt. Under his regime, order reigns over all conquered lands. Or does it? In one of the distant oriental provinces, a large crowd marches through the streets of Jerusalem. They cry loudly while they follow a man who carries a cross to the top of the Golgotha mountain. There he will die a terrible death... Who is this man? Why has the story remained a mystery? Will Golgotha ever reveal the secrets of this historic event? The Shadow of Golgotha is by no means a chronological representation of the story. This piece of music is an attempt to depict a series of flashbacks about the events that still have an impact on our life today. The piece begins immediately with a tragic and pitiful theme which is soon interrupted by a secondary theme of a more Oriental nature that depicts everyday life in the city of Jerusalem. The main theme and its perpetual determination represents the unavoidable and imminent calamity and it stops for a moment with a first climax. As this fades away, we are submerged in an empty swoon which is interrupted twice by the thundering sound of trumpets and horns. The Oriental, secondary theme and the tragic main theme can be heard once again, but this time in the reverse order. Then the unavoidable event is about to happen. The main theme returns stubbornly despite the efforts of a trumpet melody that initially seems to triumph. The main theme continues until the inevitable end'