Stabat Mater
Saturday 11 July 2015
St Andrew's Anglican Church, Indooroopilly
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), one of the three great composers born in 1685, is known today for his many harpsichord sonatas. Born in Italy, Scarlatti spent most of his life in the service of Portuguese and Spanish royal families. His music straddles the Baroque and Classical periods of music.
His writing for voices is not plentiful, but of the few works he wrote, his Stabat Mater would have to be the most stunning. Probably composed around 1715, it is interestingly set for ten voice parts, with four soprano lines and two each of alto, tenor and bass. Usually this type of configuration would be split into two choirs of SSATB; Scarlatti, however, does not organise his musical thoughts in this way, preferring to layer all ten parts (SSSSAATTBB) to create a rich tapestry of sound. The Stabat Mater text is also divided into ten movements. American conductor Robert Scandrett, in his notes on the Scarlatti Stabat Mater, says: “Its generous dimensions, its unique spatial concept, its irresistible dramatic sweep, its lyrical sweetness, all bound together with clear stylistic unity and superlative organisation of the colouristically restricted resources, places it in the company of the great musical architectural creations of the first part of the 18th century.”
As an entrée to whet the appetite, or perhaps cleanse the ears from the outside world, we grouped three of the four Marian antiphons by a variety of composers.
Two settings of the Latin text O vos omnes appeared in our programme. This particular text precedes the Stabat Mater setting on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 15). Carlo Gesualdo’s (1566-1613) O vos omnes lead us into Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater, and the beauty of Pablo Casals’ (1876-1973) setting of the same text lead us to the conclusion of the performance.
St Andrew's Anglican Church, Indooroopilly
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757), one of the three great composers born in 1685, is known today for his many harpsichord sonatas. Born in Italy, Scarlatti spent most of his life in the service of Portuguese and Spanish royal families. His music straddles the Baroque and Classical periods of music.
His writing for voices is not plentiful, but of the few works he wrote, his Stabat Mater would have to be the most stunning. Probably composed around 1715, it is interestingly set for ten voice parts, with four soprano lines and two each of alto, tenor and bass. Usually this type of configuration would be split into two choirs of SSATB; Scarlatti, however, does not organise his musical thoughts in this way, preferring to layer all ten parts (SSSSAATTBB) to create a rich tapestry of sound. The Stabat Mater text is also divided into ten movements. American conductor Robert Scandrett, in his notes on the Scarlatti Stabat Mater, says: “Its generous dimensions, its unique spatial concept, its irresistible dramatic sweep, its lyrical sweetness, all bound together with clear stylistic unity and superlative organisation of the colouristically restricted resources, places it in the company of the great musical architectural creations of the first part of the 18th century.”
As an entrée to whet the appetite, or perhaps cleanse the ears from the outside world, we grouped three of the four Marian antiphons by a variety of composers.
Two settings of the Latin text O vos omnes appeared in our programme. This particular text precedes the Stabat Mater setting on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 15). Carlo Gesualdo’s (1566-1613) O vos omnes lead us into Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater, and the beauty of Pablo Casals’ (1876-1973) setting of the same text lead us to the conclusion of the performance.
