Stabat Mater for solo alto and orchestra, RV 621, is a composition by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi on one of the

Sorrows of Mary Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

. It was premiered in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

in 1712.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for violins I & II, violas, solo alto or countertenor and basso continuo.

Movements

Vivaldi's Stabat Mater only uses the first ten stanzas of the hymn.Stabat Mater
stabatmater.info The music is keyed in

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, and is generally slow and melancholy, with allegro only being used once in the Amen, and all the other movements not going faster than

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. Movements 4, 5, and 6 are identical to the first three musically. The composition is structured into nine

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

as follows: # Stabat mater dolorosa # Cujus animam gementem # O quam tristis et afflicta # Quis est homo # Quis non posset contristari # Pro peccatis suae gentis # Eia mater, fons amoris # Fac ut ardeat cor meum # Amen

In popular culture

A piano transcription of this work was featured prominently in the 1999 film '' The Talented Mr. Ripley''.

References

External links

* *

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

Compositions by Antonio Vivaldi 1727 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub