The Catholic Culture Podcast: Ep. 72 – Stabat Mater

April 8, 2020

Stabat Matera medieval hymn long used as a sequence for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, but now commonly sung during each stop of the Cross. This prayer, which asks Our Lady to help us experience the same sorrow and love with which she participated in the Passion of her Son, has been set to music by many great composers.

In this episode, we explore some of the most famous and influential theater performances.
Stabat Matera work completed by 26-year-old Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736), who was prepared to die from tuberculosis. An interview with leading Pergolesi researcher Francesco Cotticelli is combined with excerpts from songs recorded on La Nuova Musica (used with permission).

content

[2:11] of Stabat Mater Texts in the context of liturgy and devotion to Mary

[6:30] Pergolesi’s biography and career

[9:30] Aria from Lorimpiad (Used with permission from Lyubov Petrova)

[17:37] Death bed composition Stabat Mater

[18:52] Pergolesi’s status and innovations in religious music at the time

[23:07] First movement, Stabat Mater Dolorosa

[35:04] 2nd movement, Quius animan gementem

[40:32] Pergolesi’s approach to text setting: alternating reflection and action

[43:20] 6th movement, Vidit Suum Dursem Natum

[50:35] 7th movement, Eia, Mater, Fons Amoris

[56:45] Musical characteristics of baroque and ornate styles

[58:27] 9th movement, Sankta Meter, Ystad Agus

[1:11:44] Popular settings Stabat Mater Before Pergolesi

[1:12:49] 12th movement, Quando Corpus Molitor

[1:17:20] The work’s gloomy ending: hope amidst sadness

[1:20:30] Criticism of contemporary and later works for being too theatrical

[1:23:11] Other interesting settings Stabat Mater

link

Recordings by La Nuova Musica (featured in this episode) http://www.harmoniamundi.com/#!/albums/2239

You may also like: Recording of Concerto Italiano
https://www.amazon.com/Pergolesi-Scarlatti-Stabat-Mater-Alessandrini/dp/B00CMSP1HU/

A website dedicated to setting up starbat meters https://www.stabatmater.info/

Main text https://www.stabatmater.info/english-translation/

Lyubov Petrova sings Alistair’s aria from Pergolesi’s opera
Lorimpiad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_SsVAXMMqo

La Nuova Musica http://lanuovamusica.co.uk/

Lyubov Petrova https://imgartists.com/roster/29757/

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