About the composer
Tommaso Traetta (1727 - 1779) was born in Bitonto, Italy. He is predominantly known for
his opera's. He worked in Vienna, Mannheim, St.Petersburg and Venice. In his sacred works
the influence of his teacher Durante can be seen. He combines contrapuntal skill with rich
chromatics in a search for the expression of pain. He wrote several Stabat Mater
compositions, two are described below. The 19th century composer Camillo de
Nardis used themes from one of his Stabat Mater for an instrumental composition (see de Nardis).
| Date | 1748 |
| Performers | Soprano, alto, tenor, bass, mixed choir and string orchestra (original: S+A, two voices) |
| Length | 26.28 minutes |
| Particulars | The work is divided into seven sections, all in minor keys. The composer clearly was looking for musical forms to express pain and sorrow. The fifth section and the final "Amen" are in strict fugal style. |
| Textual variations | The "Analecta"-version of the text is used, but
with following changes: - Stanza 4, line 2: not "Et tremebat cum videbat" but "Pia Mater, dum videbat" - Stanza 5, line 2: not "Christi Matrem" but "Matrem Christi" - Stanza 6, line 2: not "Piam Matrem" but "Christi Matrem" - 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" |
| Date | 1750? |
| Performers | Soprano, alto, tenor, bass, mixed choir and orchestra |
| Length | 35.02 minutes |
| Particulars | The Stabat Mater in e is divided into nine sections. Traetta writes in an operatic style. Especially the soprano solo is a veritable aria. |
| Textual variations | The "Analecta"-version of the text is used, but
with identical changes as the one above.: |
Colorbar 2
| CD 1 | Bongiovanni GB 2127-2: Tommaso Traetta |
| About this CD | Dedicated to sacred works of Traetta Recorded at the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, in April 1992. I bought this CD on the Internet, CDNow, 1997 |
| Orchestra | Ensemble Giovanile Ambrosiano |
| Choir | Coro Polifonico Farnesiano di Piacenza |
| Conductor | Italo lo Vetere |
| Soloists | Svetla Krasteva, soprano Ilia Aramayo Sandivari, mezzo-soprano Antonio de Lucia, tenor Robert Gierlach, bass |
| Other works | Ouverture in Re Maggiore Litanie a quattro voci concertate con instrumenti |
| Added | 1997 (TRA 01) |
| CD 2 | |
| About this CD | This is a CD-R with a recording of a radio
concert. The music was performed in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, in May 2004. I received it from Mr.H.Spelt. |
| Orchestra | Orkest van de Nederlandse Bachvereniging |
| Choir | Koor van de Nederlandse Bachvereniging |
| Conductor | Johannes Leertouwer |
| Soloists | Anke Herrmann, soprano Pascal Bertin, countertenor Robert Getchell, tenor Marc Pantus, bass |
| Other works | Antonio Vivaldi: Laudate Pueri RV 601 |
| Added | 2004 (TRA 01) |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl