About the composer
János Vajdas was born in Miskolc, Hungary, in 1949.
He studied composition at the Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest and continued his
studies in the Netherlands with Ton de Leeuw. He teaches composition at the
Budapest Academy of Music.With his Stabat Mater he began a change in musical
idiom, abandoning the forceful expressiveness as can be found in his opera
Barabbas to a more simple style. It is clear that here he was influenced by
Strawinsky, as the subtitle of his Stabat Mater is In memoriam Igor
Strawinsky.
| Date | 1978 |
| Performers | Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, and Orchestra (flute, oboe, bassoon, horn, cimbalom, viola, cello, percussion) |
| Length | 5.20 minutes |
| Particulars | Though the work is not explicitly divided into sections, still every stanza has its own melody. In the first stanza we can hear in the background faintly the plain chant Stabat Mater, which returns more strongly in the next to last stanza. The presence of the cimbalom gives the work an Hungarian flavour. |
| Textual variations | The "Vatican"-version of the text is used, but only eight stanzas of the twenty, including the final "Amen" |
| CD | Hungaroton SLPX 12263 |
| About this CD | This is a CDR copied from a second hand LP
which
was found by our friend Ignace Verberk in a shop in Leipzig. The record dates probably from 1982. |
| Orchestra | Probably the ensemble was assembled for this occasion. No name is on the record. |
| Choir | The female part of the Hungarian Radio and Television Chorus. |
| Conductor | Géza Török |
| Soloists | Mária Zádori,
soprano Anna Bogdány, mezzo-soprano |
| Other works | Barabbás Búcsú (Farewell) |
| Added | Unknown (VAJ 01) |
E-mail:
stabatmater@dds.nl