Stabat Mater (Dvorák)
Encyclopedia
Stabat Mater for soli, choir and orchestra is a religious cantata
by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák
. The work was sketched in 1876 and completed in 1877.
.
Stabat Mater is Dvořák's first work on a religious theme. It is divided into ten individual parts; only the first and the last part are thematically connected.
The first performance took place on 23 December 1880 at the concert of the Jednota umělců hudebních (Association of Musical Artists) in Prague. The performers included the opera ensemble of the České prozatímní divadlo (Czech Provisional Theatre), under the baton of the conductor Adolf Čech, with the soloists Eleanora Ehrenbergů
, Betty Fibich, Antonín Vávra and Karel Čech. The composer Leoš Janáček
conducted the work a year and half later, on 2 April 1882, in Brno
. Performances abroad (Budapest
, London
) soon ensued.
The cantata was published in score, parts and piano vocal score (arranged by Dr. Josef Zubatý) by German publishing house N. Simrock
in 1881. On this occasion Dvořák also changed the opus number.
The first movement is an extended sonata-form in symphonic style. It opens with a long orchestral introduction, then repeated with the chorus. A contrasting second theme is introduced by the soloists. A development section leads to the return of the opening material.
The organ has an independent part accompanying the female semi-chorus in the fourth movement, and is not used otherwise.
Similarly, the cor anglais
has a solo line in the opening of the second movement and is otherwise absent. Though not specified in the score, it can easily be played by one of the two oboists, as they are not playing during this section.
The final movement recalls the opening themes of the work, but then turns into the major key for a triumphant Amen fugue of considerable complexity.
The cantata is scored for an orchestra of: 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, cor anglais
, 2 clarinet
s in A, 2 bassoon
s, 4 horns (two in F, two in D), 2 trumpet
s, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, timpani
, organ
and strings
.
The solos are written for soprano
, tenor
, alto
, bass, accompanied with the SATB
choir
.
The approximate duration of the work is 90 minutes.
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
by the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
. The work was sketched in 1876 and completed in 1877.
Background
The composing of the cantata was Dvořák's reaction to the death of his daughter Josefa. The sketch was written between 19 February and 7 May 1876, and was dedicated to František Hušpauer "as a souvenir to the friend of his young days." However, Dvořák was forced to postpone the orchestration of the work, due to his other obligations. He returned to the final stylisation of the composition in 1877, when his two surviving children died within a short time of each other. The definitive version of the score was written between the beginning of October and 13 November 1877 in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Stabat Mater is Dvořák's first work on a religious theme. It is divided into ten individual parts; only the first and the last part are thematically connected.
The first performance took place on 23 December 1880 at the concert of the Jednota umělců hudebních (Association of Musical Artists) in Prague. The performers included the opera ensemble of the České prozatímní divadlo (Czech Provisional Theatre), under the baton of the conductor Adolf Čech, with the soloists Eleanora Ehrenbergů
Eleanora Ehrenbergů
Eleanora Ehrenbergů was a Czech operatic soprano. In 1854 she made her professional opera debut at the Estates Theatre in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor...
, Betty Fibich, Antonín Vávra and Karel Čech. The composer Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
conducted the work a year and half later, on 2 April 1882, in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
. Performances abroad (Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) soon ensued.
The cantata was published in score, parts and piano vocal score (arranged by Dr. Josef Zubatý) by German publishing house N. Simrock
Fritz Simrock
Friedrich August Simrock, better known as Fritz Simrock was a German music publisher who inherited a publishing firm from his grandfather Nicolaus Simrock...
in 1881. On this occasion Dvořák also changed the opus number.
Structure
The composition consists of ten parts:- 1. Quartetto, Coro. Andante con moto (Stabat Mater dolorosa)
- 2. Quartetto. Andante sostenuto (Quis est homo, qui non fleret)
- 3. Coro. Andante con moto (Eja, Mater, fons amoris)
- 4. Basso solo, Coro. Largo (Fac, ut ardeat cor meum)
- 5. Coro. Andante con moto, quasi allegretto (Tui nati vulnerati)
- 6. Tenore solo, Coro. Andante con moto (Fac me vere tecum flere)
- 7. Coro. Largo (Virgo virginum praeclara)
- 8. Duo. Larghetto (Fac, ut portem Christi mortem)
- 9. Alto solo. Andante maestoso (Inflammatus et accensus)
- 10.Quartetto, Coro. Andante con moto (Quando corpus morietur)
The first movement is an extended sonata-form in symphonic style. It opens with a long orchestral introduction, then repeated with the chorus. A contrasting second theme is introduced by the soloists. A development section leads to the return of the opening material.
The organ has an independent part accompanying the female semi-chorus in the fourth movement, and is not used otherwise.
Similarly, the cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
has a solo line in the opening of the second movement and is otherwise absent. Though not specified in the score, it can easily be played by one of the two oboists, as they are not playing during this section.
The final movement recalls the opening themes of the work, but then turns into the major key for a triumphant Amen fugue of considerable complexity.
The cantata is scored for an orchestra of: 2 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in A, 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, 4 horns (two in F, two in D), 2 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
.
The solos are written for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, bass, accompanied with the SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
.
The approximate duration of the work is 90 minutes.
Selected recordings
- Stabat Mater, Czech Philharmonic, Wolfgang SawallischWolfgang SawallischWolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=779 - Stabat Mater, Czech Philharmonic, Václav SmetáčekVáclav SmetácekVáclav Smetáček was a Czech conductor, composer, and oboist.He studied in Prague among others with Jaroslav Křička, conducting with Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček, musicology, aesthetics, and philosophy at Charles University...
http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=2005842 - Stabat Mater, Symfonický orchestr hl. m. Prahy, Jiří BělohlávekJirí BelohlávekJiří Bělohlávek is a Czech conductor. His father was a barrister and judge. In his youth Bělohlávek studied cello with Miloš Sádlo and was later a graduate of the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=2776 - Stabat Mater, Czech Philharmonic, Václav TalichVáclav TalichVáclav Talich was a Czech conductor, violinist and pedagogue.- Life :Born in Kroměříž, Moravia, he started his musical career in a student orchestra in Klatovy. From 1897 to 1903 he studied at the conservatory in Prague with Otakar Ševčík...
http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=2007489 - Stabat Mater, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and ChorusAtlanta Symphony OrchestraThe Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
, Robert ShawRobert Shaw (conductor)Robert Shaw was an American conductor most famous for his work with his namesake Chorale, with the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Shaw received 14 Grammy awards, four ASCAP awards for service to contemporary music, the first Guggenheim Fellowship...
. (Nominated for two Grammys, this was Shaw's final recording.)