Friday, April 10, 2009

At the Cross ......

One of the most beautiful of all the texts of Holy Week is the 13th century sequence Stabat Mater, a meditation on the passion as seen through the eyes of Mary. Written by an unknown monk it has been set to music as diverse as Ambrosian chant to Black Metal.

To my mind the most moving of the baroque settings is by Giovanni Pergolesi. This performance of the first of the 20 verses that make up the poem is led by Claudio Abbaddo. It may not be one of the most idiomatic but the blending of soprano Katia Ricciarelli and contralto Lucia Valentini Terrani is almost ideal.


Stabat Mater dolorosa
iuxta crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.
The grieving Mother stood
beside the cross weeping
where her Son was hanging.


10 aprile - Venerdi Santo

3 comments:

Doralong said...

That was truly lovely dear.

sageweb said...

That was sweet, very mesmorizing.

more cowbell said...

Nice! The one I'm most familiar with is William Cornysh's Stabat Mater, done by the Tallis Scholars. But then, I would basically be their groupie. If the Tallis Scholars permitted groupies. Which, of course, they do not.