About the composer
Arvo Pärt was born in Estonia in 1935. In 1980 he moved to Berlin where he started
composing. Pärt uses all possibilities of the twentieth century, still his music is clear
and transcendent. His Stabat Mater from 1985 is composed in what he calls his
"tintinnabuli" style and brings us back to the liturgical roots: the purity of
the thirteenth century. It is created out of respect for silence: the silence at the foot
of the cross. What kind of music is suitable at the foot of the cross? As Robert R.Reilly,
music critic of Crisis Magazine wrote: "Pärt's answer is gripping and intensely
moving. It is not a study in musical archaism, but a living testimony of belief. This is
music to listen to on your knees."
| Date | 1985 |
| Performers | Soprano, alto, tenor, and string trio |
| Length | 29.19 minutes |
| Particulars | A pathetic motif of three descending notes is elaborated instrumentally and vocally. The text is sung in a slow recitative and the sparse, open texture of the vocal lines is paralleled by the string parts, heightening the pain and anxiety of the text. The predominant slow motion is interrupted three times by short fast gigs. In the "Amen" at the end the motif from the beginning returns. One of the most beautiful Stabat Maters ever. |
| Textual variations | The text according to "Analecta" is sung, with
following changes: Stanza 13, line 1: not "Fac me vere tecum flere" but "Fac me tecum, pie, flere" Stanza 14, line 2: not "Te libenter sociare" but "Et me tibi sociare" Stanza 16, line 2: not "Passionis eius sortem" but "Passionis fac consortem" Stanza 17, line 3: not "Ob amorem Filii" but "Et cruore Filii" |
| CD | Virgin 5 45272 2: Stabat Mater |
| About this CD | Four completely different settings of the Stabat Mater. A
"must" for every collector. The Pärt Stabat Mater was recorded at the St Bartholomew's Church, Orford, Suffolk, in May 1996. I bought this CD in a record shop in the Netherlands, 1997 |
| Orchestra | Fretwork |
| Conductor | Andrew Parrot |
| Soloists | Joanne Andrews, soprano Deborah Miles-Johnson, mezzo-soprano Simon Berridge, tenor |
| Other works | Gregorian Chant, Stabat Mater John Browne, Stabat Mater Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Stabat Mater |
| Added | 1997 PÄR 01 |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl