I just added a CD Via Crucis, a composition by Dick Le Mair, a Dutch composer. In part four (the fourth station of the cross: Jesus meets his mother), he uses the first Stanza of Stabat Mater. This part reminds me of the introduction of Cantate 106 (Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit) by Johann Sebastian Bach. I love this music very much because of its intensity. Dick Le Mair was so kind to send the CD to me. Thank you very much!
Spirit, Strength & Sorrow
I just added the CD Spirit, Strength & Sorrow by The Sixteen with Harry Christophers. It includes six (!) settings of the Stabat Mater text, three settings are new ones by: Alissa Firsova (British with Russian parents), Tõnu Kõrvits, from Estonia and Matthew Martin, from England. Spirit Strength and Sorrow is the result of the commissioning collaboration with the Genesis Foundation. The CD begins with the plainsong and ends with Claudio Casciolini and Domenico Scarlatti, a must for every Stabat Mater lover!
New Stabat: Pormeister-Rips
Mr. Pavel Brochin from Germany, was so kind to inform me about the Stabat Mater composition by Piret Pormeister-Rips from Estonia. Mr Brochins choir, Audienda-Choir Krefeld, was invited to take part in the 5th Rhine-Westphalia Choral Festival in Krefeld. He was looking for a bigger contemporary Estonian composition, and his friends recommended him Piret Rips’ Stabat Mater. Piret Rips made a new orchestral version. The first one was for string orchestra only. His choir performed this work in September 2006. Mr. Brochin was so kind to send the CD with recordings of the Rheinisch-Westfälisches Landes Chorfest Krefeld to send to me. Thank you very much!
Two Italian Stabats
I added two new contemporary composers from Italy: Alberto Schiavo and Stefano Lentini. Alberto Schiavo contacted me to inform about his compostion from 2016. He was so kind to send me the files and some more information. Lentini’s Stabat Mater(2013), has been composed for the movie The Grandmaster (2013) by Wong Kar-Wei. It is only 3.02 minutes! The Grandmaster is a Hong Kong-Chinese martial arts drama film based on the life story of the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man. The film was directed and written by Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung as Ip Man.
Bednall, Alfeyev and Auerbach
In the last two weeks I added three new composers. Mr. Hubert Maillard was so kind to inform me about the Stabat Maters by David Bednall (England) and Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev (Russia). I bought these CDs on the internet at Presto Classical. On the moment, the Alfeyev Stabat Mater is my favorite one.
I also added “Sogno di Stabat Mater” by Lera Auerbach. This CD-R was a present of my friend Ignace, who made a recording of the radio transmission of NPO 4 in the Netherlands in November 2014.
Latest addition: Stefaan Vanheertum
I just added the Stabat Mater by Stefaan Vanheertum to my collection. He is a Flemish composer, living in Ghent. On Saturday, April 16th 2016 the new Stabat Mater composed by Stefaan Vanheertum was performed and recorded. I visited the concert and loved it. The CD can be ordered through his site.
Norbert Rosseau, composer 263
I just added the Stabat Mater by Norbert Rosseau. Rosseau is composer number 263. He was, till now, on Hans’ list of missing CDs. The CD is the recording of the annual concert organised by the Dutch Stabat Mater Foundation in the Netherlands (Oirschot). The Stabat Mater by Rosseau has never been performed in the Netherlands before.
Latest additions: Berney and Biber
In August 2016 I added two, totally different composers: Jérôme Berney from Switzerland (born in Canada, 1971) and Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber from Bohemia (nowadays the Czech Republic) who lived in the 17th century.
Jérôme Berney is a composer and a drummer. In his compositions he mixes classical and jazz style. He was so kind to send me a recording on CD of the performance of his Stabat Mater in October 2015.
Thanks to Mr. Berger I found Von Bibers Stabat Mater. It is on the CD Passion and Lament.
Latest addition: J. B. Foerster
I just added the Stabat Mater by Josef Bohuslav Foerster. Theresia Stössel was so kind to send me this CD: Jubilate Deo from the Chamberchoir of the German Catholic Youth Movement. This Movement has been organising a musical project each summer for more than two decades. This album is the result! On the CD is religious music from several ages: Mendelsohn, Victoria, Olsson, Bruckner and other composers. The Stabat Mater by Foerster is for mixed choir and organ.
Latest addition: Mul, Strategier, de Klerk
I just added three composers to my Stabat Mater collection: Jan Mul, Herman Strategier and Albert de Klerk all recorded on the CD Heavenly Beauty from the Netherlands. It is the recording of the 17th concert organised by the Dutch Stabat Mater Foundation, at the Sint Petrus Church in Oirschot, in March 2015. Hendrik Andriessen is on this CD with his Miroir de Peine, a composition for soprano and organ. He wrote this song-cycle in 1923 as a setting of texts by the French poet Henri Ghéon. The sonnets deal with the suffering of Christ, but viewed from the perspective of his mother Mary. I did not add this piece to my collection, I have doubted, but for me it is not a Stabat Mater. The picture below (four composers) is from the CD-booklet.
