About the composer
Bononcini (1677 - 1726) came from a family of musicians in Modena. He should not be
confused with his brother Giovanni Maria who wrote a study book on counterpoint, or with
Giovanni Battista, who was a great operatic rival of Händel in London and who was
suspected of stealing compositions. Antonio composed about 20 operas and many cantatas.
Probably he composed his Stabat Mater in Vienna, in view of a certain similarity with the
works of Caldara and Astorga.
| Date | ± 1710? |
| Performers | Soprano, alto, tenor, bass, choir, strings and continuo |
| Length | 35.48 minutes |
| Particulars | The composition is divided into 14 parts. The first 6 contain 2 stanzas, the other 8 each 1 stanza. Bononcini uses a variety of voices and accompaniment. After the intro by the chorus and a soprano aria we hear a duet of soprano and alto, accompanied just by continuo. The second choral is a slow fugue, after which the alto aria opens with a violin solo. The next chorus is accompanied by the full orchestra with organ continuo. The final chorus is a fugue again. Surprisingly the final "Amen" is omitted. |
| Textual variations | The text according to "Analecta" is used, with one
exception: - Stanza 16, line 2: not "Passionis eius sortem" but "Passionis fac consortem" |
| CD | Decca 443 869-2 (double CD): Pergolesi: Stabat Mater - Scarlatti - Bononcini |
| About this CD | A nice collection of Stabat Maters and some other works, even
if the registrations are rather old. As it is the only Bononcini registration that I know
of, every collector should have it. It was recorded in 1977. I bought this CD in a record shop in the Netherlands, 1998 |
| Orchestra | Philomusica of London |
| Choir | Choir of St.John's College, Cambridge |
| Conductor | George Guest |
| Soloists | Felicity Palmer, soprano Paul Esswood, countertenor Philip Langridge, tenor Christopher Keyte, bass |
| Other works | Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Stabat Mater + Magnificat in
C major Domenico Scarlatti, Stabat Mater Alessandro Scarlatti, O magnum mysterium + Domine, refugium factus est nobis Antonio Lotti, Crucifixus Antonio Caldara, Crucifixus |
| Added | 1998 (BON 01) |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl