Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater Dolorosa, often referred to as Stabat Mater, is a 13th-century Catholic hymn to Mary, variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III. It is about the Sorrows of Mary.

The title of the sorrowful hymn is an incipit of the first line, Stabat mater dolorosa ("The sorrowful mother stood"). The Stabat Mater hymn, one of the most powerful and immediate of extant medieval poems, meditates on the suffering of Mary, Jesus Christ's mother, during his crucifixion. It is sung at the liturgy on the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Stabat Mater has been set to music by many composers, with the most famous settings being those by Palestrina (~1590), Domenico Scarlatti (1715), Alessandro Scarlatti (1723), Pergolesi (1736), Vivaldi (~1727), J.S.Bach (1748), Haydn (1767), Rossini (1832/42), Dvořák (1877), George Henschel, Karol Szymanowski (1925/26), Poulenc (195/51), Toivo Kuula and Arvo Pärt (1985).

Date

The Marian hymn Stabat mater is generally ascribed to Jacopo da Todi (ca. 1230-1306).

Stabat Mater (Jenkins)

Stabat Mater is a 2008 piece by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, and is based on the 13th-century Roman Catholic prayer Stabat Mater. Like much of Jenkins' earlier work, the piece incorporates both traditional Western music (orchestra and choir) with ethnic instruments and vocals - this time focusing on the Middle East. The recording features the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, along with two soloists, Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Jurgita Adamonyte, and English musician Belinda Sykes, who both sings and performs on the duduk, an Armenian reed instrument.

Background to the piece

Written in the 13th century, the title Stabat Mater is actually an abbreviation of the first line, Stabat Mater dolorosa ('The sorrowful Mother was standing'). The poem reflects on the suffering of Mary, mother of Jesus, at the time of the Crucifixion. Jenkins' setting of the 20-verse poem is actually one of the longest of hundreds of extant settings of the work.

Jenkins' adaptation

Stabat Mater (Pergolesi)

Stabat Mater is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater sequence, composed by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi in 1736. Composed in the final weeks of Pergolesi's life, it is scored for soprano and alto soloists, violin I and II, viola and basso continuo (cello and organ).

Background

Many pieces which were said to have been composed by Pergolesi have been misattributed; the Stabat Mater is definitely by Pergolesi, as a manuscript in his handwriting has been preserved. The work was composed for a Neapolitan confraternity, the Confraternità dei Cavalieri di San Luigi di Palazzo, which had also commissioned a Stabat Mater from Alessandro Scarlatti. Pergolesi composed it during his final illness from tuberculosis in a Franciscan monastery in Pozzuoli, along with a Salve Regina setting.

Reception

The Stabat Mater is one of Pergolesi's most celebrated sacred works, achieving great popularity after the composer's death.Jean-Jacques Rousseau showed appreciation for the work, praising the opening movement as "the most perfect and touching duet to come from the pen of any composer". Many composers adapted the work, including Giovanni Paisiello, who extended the orchestral accompaniment, and Joseph Eybler, who added a choir to replace some of the duets. Bach's Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden is a parody cantata based on Pergolesi's composition.

Stabat

Stabat is a town in North Sumatra province of Indonesia and it is the seat (capital) of Langkat Regency. The town lies on the road between Medan and Banda Aceh, a short distance past the city of Binjai.

Stabat District is one of the 23 districts of Langkat Regency. Its capital is the town of Stabat. It is bordered by Wampu District to the west, Secanggang District to the north, Binjai to the south, and Hamparan Perak District of Deli Serdang Regency to the east.

Most people in Stabat District are Javanese, however in Pantai Gemi village the majority are Malay.

Stabat has been since the colonial period a centre of government.

References