About the composer
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 - 1924) was born in Dublin, Ireland, but a convinced
Protestant. Though he was Irish to the marrow (his third symphony is called "the
Irish", and he composed six "Irish Rhapsodies") he worked all his life in
England, especially in Leeds. He composed many choral works, for instance Songs of the Sea
and Songs of the Fleet, a Requiem and five operas. It is not known why the Protestant
Stanford composed a Stabat Mater.
| Date | 1906 |
| Performers | Soprano, alto, tenor, bass, choir and orchestra |
| Length | 43.06 minutes |
| Particulars | The composition is divided into five sections, of which the first, the Prelude, and the third, the Intermezzo, are instrumental. Stanford himself gave it the subtitle "Symphonic Cantata". |
| Textual variations | The "Analecta"-text is used, with a
single change: - Stanza 16, line 2: not "Passionis ejus sortem" but "Passionis fac consortem" However, in two places Stanford breaks through the order of the poem's stanzas: after the "dum emisit spiritum" the soprano repeats "Stabat Mater Dolorosa" and after the third stanza in the second section the chorus repeats the opening sentence "Eia Mater, fons amoris". |
| CD | Chandos CHAN 9548: Stanford, Stabat Mater - Te Deum - Bible Songs |
| About this CD | Recorded at the Leeds Town Hall, November 1995. |
| Orchestra | BBC Philharmonic |
| Choir | Leeds Philharmonic Chorus |
| Conductor | Richard Hickox |
| Soloists | Ingrid Attrot, soprano Pamela Helen Stephen, mezzo-soprano Nigel Robson, tenor Stephen Varcoe, baritone |
| Other works | Te Deum laudamus Bible Songs |
| Added | Unknown (STA 01) |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl