Stabat Mater, FP 148, is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

composed by Francis Poulenc in 1950.

Background

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 A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

of the

Black Virgin The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found both ...

Rocamadour Rocamadour (; ''Rocamador'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Lot department in Southwestern France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogn ...

, he selected the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Stabat Mater text. Poulenc's setting, scored for soprano solo, mixed chorus, and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, premiered on the 13th of June 1951 at the Strasbourg Festival. It was well received throughout Europe and in the United States where it won the New York Critic's Circle Award for Best Choral Work of the year.Hell.

Structure

The Stabat Mater is divided into twelve

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 ...

, 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

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

s, English horn, 2 clarinets (B♭), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons * 4

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

s, 3

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s (C), 3

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

Timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

, 2 Harps * Strings * Soprano solo, SATBarB Chorus (divisi)

Selected Recordings

References

Source texts

* Hell, Henri 1959, ''Francis Poulenc'', London: John Calder * Ivry, Benjamin 1996, ''Francis Poulenc'' (20th-Century Composers series), Phaidon Press, . * Mellers, Wilfrid 1993, ''Francis Poulenc'', New York: Oxford University Press *

External links

Latin text and English translation at Johnrpierce.com
{{Authority control Compositions by Francis Poulenc Poulenc, Francis 1950 compositions