# Your favourite Stabat Mater?



## Orpheus

This medieval Latin hymn, a searingly direct depiction of Mary's feelings during the Crucifixion, has been set to music by many of the great composers. I'm referring here, of course, to the _dolorosa_, though contributors are also welcome to talk about settings of the _speciosa_ if they so wish.

My personal favourite is Pergolesi's beautifully airy, delicate setting (why, did Pergolesi have to die so young?). I'm also rather fond of Szymanowski's version, which as with much of his music, seems to be criminally underrated in comparison to relatively ordinary works by composers who are more widely popular. Rossini's deploys perhaps just a little too much operatic bombast for my tastes, though I must concede that it also contains some fine music (some of which I would perhaps have appreciated better in another piece).

I've not by any means heard all settings of the Stabat Mater, however, and I may still be missing out on some of the finest ones. Which are your own favourites? Are there specific recordings that you'd like to recommend?


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## dgee

Second the Szymanowski - it blew me away the first time I heard and made me a long-time fan. I'm not much of a baroque listener but the Scarlatti has wonderful textural and harmonic qualities which for me makes it more interesting than Pergolesi


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## Bulldog

My favorite is Haydn's Stabat Mater conducted by Pinnock on Archiv - a sharp and exciting version.


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## StlukesguildOhio

I absolutely love Pergolesi's _Stabat Mater_. His premature death was indeed one of the greatest losses in classical music. Before the death of Bach, Pergolesi was already pointing toward the more stripped-down structure of the classical era. I can easily imagine his as a third along-side Mozart and Haydn in the classical era. I have several recordings of the Stabat Mater by Pergolesi... but no clear favorite... although this recording with Michael Chance is quite good:










After Pergolesi, I would highly recommend Boccherini's intimate Stabat Mater scored for chamber group and soloist. The Harmonia Mundi recording with Chiara Banchini is absolutely marvelous:










I also love Rossini's Stabat Mater... in spite of the fact that it often sounds more like a comic opera than a meditation upon maternal loss. The composer himself would even acknowledge this.


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## Neo Romanza

A toss-up between Poulenc's and Szymanowski's.


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## dgee

How did I forget Poulenc? Shame on me - I only listened to it a couple of days ago!


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## Ingélou

Vivaldi for me; I love the elegant instrumental interludes but especially when the ?key changes, and the drama and the pathos hit me suddenly on the words 'Eia Mater...'

It raises the hairs on the back of your neck!


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## GioCar

I would pick up three Stabat Mater for three different centuries: 

18c Pergolesi
19c Dvorak
20c Poulenc


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## Winterreisender

My three favourites have already been mentioned but I'll repeat them anyway:

1. Pergolesi
2. Vivaldi
3. Boccherini

I also enjoy the Stabat Mater of D. Scarlatti. Although not quite as enjoyable (in my opinion) as the three mentioned above, it is nevertheless interesting to here some of Scarlatti's non-Keyboard works!


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## Rocco

My favorite would be Vivaldi too. I haven't heard a lot of others, but I love Vivaldi's Stabat Mater.


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## Guest

Don't forget the Renaissance. I enjoy William Cornysh's setting of the Stabat Mater - the Tallis Scholars perform this work wonderfully. Admittedly, in spite of my love for religious choral works, the Cornysh Stabat Mater is the only recording of this work in my collection. With the help of this thread, I shall have to remedy that.


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## Orpheus

I must admit that the Poulenc had eluded me before I started this thread. I gave it a listen earlier and enjoyed it quite a lot. I don't think it will displace either of my current favourites in my estimation, it doesn't have quite either the lyrical delicacy of the Pergolesi or the visceral intensity of the Szymanowski (I'm pleased to see that I'm not the only one who likes that work, by the way!). It is, nonetheless, a very fine work. I'll have to get on to the Vivaldi soon too. I'd quite forgotten that he'd written a Stabat Mater. The Cornysh is an interesting new one for me; I may give that a try too.


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## Guest

The Cornysh is only about 15 minutes long, and purely vocal, no instruments. I'm not sure what other Renaissance composers wrote settings of the Stabat Mater, but I'm guessing he wasn't the first, given the age of the song.


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## Couac Addict

It helped if your name started with a P.

Palestrina
Part
Penderecki
Pergolesi
Poulenc

...and a wildcard entrant.
Rossini


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## Tristan

I haven't heard too many either, but Poulenc and Pergolesi do come to mind right away. I also like Dvorak's. 

So in other words, exactly what GioCar said


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## joen_cph

There´s a great and monumental _Stabat Mater_ section in Liszt´s "Christus Oratorio", lasting almost 40 mins:


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## Guest

So I went overboard - some I purchased, most I found at my local library. But these are now on my iPod to listen to.

Vivaldi - 2 versions, one with Fabio Biondi on Virgin, the other by the Ensemble Matheus on Naive.
Pergolesi - 2 versions, one again by Biondi on Virgin, the other (which I purchased) by Florilegium on Channel Classics.
Poulenc - Ozawa on DG
Rossini - Myung-Whun Chung on DG
John Browne - I actually had this one all along, just didn't realize it, sung by the Tallis Scholars
Cornysh - already mentioned, sung by the Tallis Scholars
Josquin des Prez - Herreweghe, Harmonia Mundi (purchased)
Szymanowski - Simon Rattle on EMI
Palestrina - purchased recording by the Tallis Scholars.

That should give me plenty to listen to and digest.


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## Celloman

The Poulenc and the Szymanowski are probably my favorites. I just discovered the Szymanowski this last year and I come back to it often. Also, has anybody mentioned the _Stabat Mater_ by Arvo Part? It is a simple and beautiful rendition. Highly recommended.


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## Il_Penseroso

Vivaldi for me also, at the moment i'm listening to Nathalie Stutzmann.


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## Aramis

For Pergolesi's _Stabat Mater_, this is the CD of good choice, as it includes two other (rather rare) works by the composer, one of which is of disputed authorship but magnificent regardless of the truth - I'm talking about Orphean work performed by Netrebko:


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## Guest

Wow, Anna sure seems to have come a long way from this:


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## quack

I usually can't answer questions like this but this one is easy, Dvorak's setting is some of the most beautiful heart-rending choral writing I know. That's despite him not really being a favourite composer of mine.

If you like Cornysh and Browne's settings then you might want to give Richard Davy's version a listen to, from the same era part of the Eton Choirbook


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## Xaltotun

Dvorak's is a bewildering cornucopia of different emotions, with more drama than most operas... an incredible piece. The Liszt is also very good.


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## Vinyl

The one I've heard most times is Dvorak. Very emotional.
Yesterday I heard for the first time a recording of Boccherini's Stabat Mater, played by La Follia under Miguel de la Fuente, and I liked it a LOT.
I don't know whether it was Tamara Hert or Kumiko Oshita, but at least one soprano impressed me.


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## cjvinthechair

3 lovely examples:

Alphons Diepenbrock (who has 2 !)
Gyorgy Orban
Somei Satoh

On You Tube - do try one !


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## Guest

After my initial listen, I have to say that, like many on here, I really enjoy the Pergolesi Stabat Mater. That said, after that, it is really the renaissance Stabat Maters that I most enjoy, especially over the Rossini, Poulenc, and the Szymanowski. I still mean to try the Dvorak.


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## TxllxT

My favourite Stabat Mater & my favourite interpretation with Riccardo Muti. Rossini has composed quite 'merry' tunes to the texts that mostly are said to be 'sad', maintaining a quite undogmatic approach to this Church music. Personally I like the uplifting mood of Rossini's music pervading the whole work.


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## Vaneyes

*Szymanowski*: Stabat Mater, Op. 53. I'm pleased to see that so many agree.

My preferred recording is Polish State PO/Stryja et al (Marco Polo, Naxos, rec. 1988). Soloists are superbly positioned and caught. Stryja's reading is high energy. I can't imagine better performance or atmosphere for this work. Therefore, I've declared it a Certified Perfect Recording.:tiphat:


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## Morrelli

I recently purchased Marco Rosano`s, Stabat Mater with Andreas Scholl, on mp3. Great in the car . I think my next purchase will be, Vivaldi`s Stabat Mater, Andreas Scholl, Ensemble 415 and chiara banchini


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## starthrower

I have the Poulenc and Penderecki, but I haven't even listened to them. Shame on me! Will rectify that. The Szymanowski sounds beautiful.


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## Benny

Poulenc - esp. with Serge Baudo.


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## Bloosman

I only possess the Szymanowski...

Simon Rattle and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra...good stuff.


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## Mandryka

Stabat Mater Dolorosa by Josquin. There's a fine performance by Herreweghe which IMO is completely aligned with the emotional meaning of the hymn.






Another good one is by Lassus -- there's a nice performance by the Hiliard ensemble if I remember correctly, but I can't find it.


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## maestro267

Of the standalone compositions, I've only heard the Dvorák and Szymanowski (a recent purchase).

There's also the Penderecki setting that he used as part of his St. Luke Passion.


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## HaydnBearstheClock

I've only heard Haydn's Stabat Mater fully so far, and really liked it. I'll need to check out the other ones .


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## SteveSherman

Unknown to me until I sang it a couple of years ago: the Stabat Mater of Josef Rheinberger. No idea if there's a recording.

It's worth noting that there is a textual intersection between the Stabat Mater and The Seven Last Words, of which I've sung settings by Schütz, Dubois and Franck--and especially love the last named.


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## hocket

Mandryka said:


> Stabat Mater Dolorosa by Josquin. There's a fine performance by Herreweghe which IMO is completely aligned with the emotional meaning of the hymn.


IMHO the version by the Dufay Ensemble blows the Herreweghe out of the water.


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## science

1. Szymanowski 
2. Pergolesi 
3. Steffani 
4. Browne
5. Josquin 
6. Palestrina 
7. Astorga 
8. Anerio 
9. Caldara
10. Dvorak 
11. Rossini


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## JCarmel

A difficult one, this...I do love a good Stabat Mater...just like putting on a Requiem is the very best thing to cheer you up?!

I think that I'd have to choose Poulenc's...I love the grave introduction & first intonations to the 'Stabat Mater' poem and then the shapely musical phrasing to the word 'dolorosa'. It immediately knicks me into a certain mood that is both serious and deeply felt. It reminds me of my Catholic upbringing I suppose... 'Once a Catholic, always a Catholic' et al....a truism, methinks.









BBC's Cd Review considered Vivaldi's... the other Saturday if anyone is interested and can listen to same where they are...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01wys2g


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## Rach d minor

Rossini is mine (Although the text setting is horrible)


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## JCarmel

DrMike said:


> Wow, Anna sure seems to have come a long way from this:
> View attachment 32782


Yes, I think so!


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## Guest

I think she looks better in this:


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## Guest

Or this:


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## JCarmel

Are you a Fan, Dr Mike? I can't quite say that I am....


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## lele23

1. Vivaldi
2. Haydn
3. Pergolesi
4. Desprez
5. Palestrina
6. Dvorak
7. Rossini
8. Poulenc


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## Pugg

Rossini/ Haydn/ Dvorak/ Poulenc/ Pergolesi to name a few.


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## cougarjuno

Dvorak 
Pergolesi
Szymanowski
Haydn


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## steph01

ApartAnother vote for John Browne from me. I have Christ Church Oxford's recording on the first volume of their Eton Choirbook series.


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## JSBach85

1. Josquin Desprez (1480)
2. Antonio Vivaldi (1727)
3. Sebastián de Vivanco (1600)
4. John Browne (1490)
5. Alessandro Scarlatti (1723)
6. Luigi Boccherini (1781)
7. Franz Joseph Haydn (1767)
8. Antonio Caldara (1700)
9. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1590)
10. Orlande de Lassus (1585)
11. Domenico Scarlatti (1715)
12. Giovanni Pergolesi (1736)
13. Agostino Steffani (1728)
14. Giovanni Gualberto Brunetti (1764)
15. Johann Zach (1750)
16. Quirino Gasparini (1770)
17. Alonso de Alba (1510)
18. Giovanni Felice Sances (1636)
19. Giovanni Platti (1750)
20. Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1825)
21. Sébastien de Brossard (1702)
22. José de Nebra (1752)
23. Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1670)
24. Josep Pla (1756)


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## CDs

I'm rather unfamiliar with the Stabat Mater and only really became aware of it because I love Scarlatti's keyboard sonata's and wanted to see what else he wrote. But thanks to this thread I'll be looking in Dvorak's and Szymanowski's Stabat Mater as well.

Currently I'm listening to Gardiner's recording of Scarlatti's Stabat Mater.


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## Ariasexta

JSBach85 said:


> 1. Josquin Desprez (1480)
> 2. Antonio Vivaldi (1727)
> 3. Sebastián de Vivanco (1600)
> 4. John Browne (1490)
> 5. Alessandro Scarlatti (1723)
> 6. Luigi Boccherini (1781)
> 7. Franz Joseph Haydn (1767)
> 8. Antonio Caldara (1700)
> 9. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1590)
> 10. Orlande de Lassus (1585)
> 11. Domenico Scarlatti (1715)
> 12. Giovanni Pergolesi (1736)
> 13. Agostino Steffani (1728)
> 14. Giovanni Gualberto Brunetti (1764)
> 15. Johann Zach (1750)
> 16. Quirino Gasparini (1770)
> 17. Alonso de Alba (1510)
> 18. Giovanni Felice Sances (1636)
> 19. Giovanni Platti (1750)
> 20. Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1825)
> 21. Sébastien de Brossard (1702)
> 22. José de Nebra (1752)
> 23. Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1670)
> 24. Josep Pla (1756)


Nice, thanks. I am stunned I did not noticed Charpentier has a Stabat Mater.


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## Ultimate Stabatmater Web

www.stabatmater.info has been completely renewed![/COLOR]
We look forward to your reactions! [email protected]
▶ Ultimate Stabat Mater Website
▶ videotrailer 



Please forward this message, then many more people can enjoy a musical journey of discovery through 30 countries, along more than 300 composers who wrote music on the same text: the Stabat Mater from 1400 up to now.
On behalf of the Ultimate Stabat Mater Website Foundation, The Netherlands
Ignace Verberk, Hannie van Osnabrugge.


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## Rogerx

Ultimate Stabatmater Web said:


> www.stabatmater.info has been completely renewed![/COLOR]
> We look forward to your reactions! [email protected]
> ▶ Ultimate Stabat Mater Website
> ▶ videotrailer
> 
> 
> 
> Please forward this message, then many more people can enjoy a musical journey of discovery through 30 countries, along more than 300 composers who wrote music on the same text: the Stabat Mater from 1400 up to now.
> On behalf of the Ultimate Stabat Mater Website Foundation, The Netherlands
> Ignace Verberk, Hannie van Osnabrugge.


Did you asks the mods?


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## amadeus1928

My favorite is Rossini's setting. An extremely underrated masterpiece!


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## Neo Romanza

Dvořák, Poulenc and Szymanowski come to my mind immediately.


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## KevinJS

Don’t want to ruffle any feathers but I find Karl Jenkins’ Stabat Mater very easy on the ears.


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## Rogerx

KevinJS said:


> Don't want to ruffle any feathers but I find Karl Jenkins' Stabat Mater very easy on the ears.


You're not, it's a great piece. I do have the Decca one.


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## advokat

1. Pergolesi
2. D. Scarlatti
3. Rossini


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## Rogerx

I did spin this one this morning, wonderful.


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## cjvinthechair

Well - did try a contribution to this 8.5 years ago (!), but since the thread's back...& so am I, here's a few more lovely 'Stabat' works:
Alfeyev(Hilarion)RUS
Godar(Vladimir)SVK 'Stala Matka' (yes, it translates as.. !)
Lendvay(Kamillo)HUN
Ciolac(Vladimir)MOL
and, a bit closer to home...Jenkins(Karl)WAL


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## sworley

GioCar said:


> I would pick up three Stabat Mater for three different centuries:
> 
> 18c Pergolesi
> 19c Dvorak
> 20c Poulenc


That's my list too.


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## Dulova Harps On

Pergolesi
Mayr


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## eljr

*Macmillian
Jenkins*


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## Rogerx

For those who can not make up your minds..... bargain price also.


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## larold

I've sung the Haydn and like it but prefer the Vivaldi.


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