Stabat Mater, FP 148, is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater sequence composed by Francis Poulenc in 1950. Poulenc wrote the piece in response to the death of his friend, artist Christian Bérard; he considered writing a Requiem for Bérard, but, after returning to the shrine of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour, he selected the medieval Stabat Mater text.[1] Poulenc's setting, scored for soprano solo, mixed chorus, and orchestra, premiered in 1951 at the Strasbourg Festival. The Stabat Mater was well received throughout Europe, and in the United States it won the New York Critics' Circle Award for Best Choral Work of the year.[2]
Structure
The Stabat Mater is divided into twelve movements,[3] which vary dramatically in character from somber to light and frivolous, even on the most serious of texts. All the movements, though, are relatively brief; Robert Shaw's Telarc recording runs just under 30 minutes, with the longest movement taking just over four minutes.
- Stabat mater dolorosa (Très calme)
- Cujus animam gementem (Allegro molto—Très violent)
- O quam tristis (Très lent)
- Quae moerebat (Andantino)
- Quis est homo (Allegro molto—Prestissimo)
- Vidit suum (Andante)
- Eja mater (Allegro)
- Fac ut ardeat (Maestoso)
- Sancta mater (Moderato—Allegretto)
- Fac ut portem (To. de Sarabande)
- Inflammatus et accensus (Animé et très rythmé)
- Quando corpus (Très calme)
The soprano soloist appears in only three movements: Vidit suum, Fac ut portem, and Quando corpus. The chorus appears largely a cappella in two others, O quam tristis and Fac ut ardeat, although the orchestra is not fully silent in either.
Instrumentation
- Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets (B♭), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons
- 4 French horns, 3 trumpets (C), 3 trombones, tuba
- Timpani, 2 Harps
- Strings
- Soprano solo, SATBarB Chorus (divisi)
Selected Recordings
| Release Year | Soloist | Conductor | Orchestra | Label | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Kathleen Battle | Seiji Ozawa | Boston Symphony Orchestra | Chandos | 9341 |
| 1996 | Danielle Borst | Michel Piquemal | Orchestre de la Cité | Naxos | 8553176 |
| 2002 | Judith Howarth | Christopher Robinson | BBC Philharmonic Orchestra | Opus Arte | 817 |
| 2002 | Christine Goerke | Robert Shaw | Atlanta Symphony Orchestra | Telarc | 80362 |
| 2006 | Catherine Dubosc | Richard Hickox | City of London Sinfonia | Erato | 63294 |
| 2013 | Marlis Petersen | Stéphane Denève | Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra | Hänssler Classic | 93297 |
| 2013 | Patricia Petibon | Paavo Järvi | Paris Orchestra | Deutsche Grammophon | 001931002 |
| 2018 | Kate Royal | Yannick Nézet-Séguin | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Lpo | 108 |
| 2019 | Marian Tassou | Hervé Niquet | Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra | Epr Classic | EPRC 0032 |
References
- ^ Mellers.
- ^ Hell.
- ^ Schmidt 1995.
Source texts
- Hell, Henri 1959, Francis Poulenc, London: John Calder
- Ivry, Benjamin 1996, Francis Poulenc (20th-Century Composers series), Phaidon Press, ISBN 0-7148-3503-X.
- Mellers, Wilfrid 1993, Francis Poulenc, New York: Oxford University Press
- Schmidt, Carl B. (1995). The Music of Francis Poulenc (1899–1963): A Catalogue. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-816336-7.