About the composer
Franchino Gaffori (or Franchinus Gaffurius) was born in Lodi, Italy in 1451. He was
director of music at the Milan cathedral from 1484 until his death in 1522. He was well
known in Europe as he published several works on musical theory. His "Practica
Musicae" from 1496 was reprinted not less than 6 times and was still in use in the
17th century.
| Date | ca. 1500? |
| Performers | Originally for 4 voices (SATB), performed her by mixed choir. |
| Length | 11.03 minutes |
| Particulars | This is not a pure Stabat Mater, as Gaffori mixed stanzas 1, 3 and 5 with parts of the hymn "De Santa Cruce" and the poem "Adoramus Te, Christe". Though the poem does not, it is nice to see that the hymn follows exactly the rhythm and rhyming scheme of the Stabat. |
| Textual variations | The complete text is as follows: - Stanza 1 of the Stabat Mater I. Dulce lignum, lignum vitae venerare convenite, salvi ligni preto (Come, praise the sweet wood, the wood of life, that saved you for the price of this wood) - Stanza 3 of the Stabat Mater II. Hoc de ligno liquor fluxit, virus mortis qui destruxit nos solvens exitio (From this wood streamed the liquid that destroyed the poison of death and thus saved us) - Stanza 5 of the Stabat Mater III. Ligno crucis fabricatur archa Noe, qua salvatur mundus a miseria (From the wood of the cross was built Noah's ark, that saved the world from its misery) IV. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi, quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum (We pray to you, Christ, and praise you, for through your holy cross you saved the world) V. Crux est virga, quae percussit silicem bis et excussit rivum vivum saeculo (The cross is the staff that split the rock twice and brought forth a life-bringing source) VI. Quod in nobis est amarum, Christe, dulce fac et sanum tuae crucis gratia. Amen (What in us is hardened, Christ, make by your cross sweet and healthy) |
| CD | Mitra Cd 16 290: Stabat Mater |
| About this CD | Another excursion into the world of Stabat Mater settings. As
the CD contains 5 Stabat Mater settings, it should be a "must" for every
collector, especially as it has the only Gaffori registration that I know of. Recorded at the St.Martinus church, Euskirchen-Kirchheim, in July 1995. I bought this CD in a record shop in the Netherlands, 1998 |
| Choir | Figural Chor Köln |
| Conductor | Richard Mailänder |
| Other works | Dom Fonteinnes, Gregorian chant Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Stabat Mater Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, Stabat Mater (excerpt) Frantisek Ignac Antonin Tuma, Stabat Mater |
| Added | 1998 GAF 01 |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl