Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

's Stabat Mater Hob. XXa:1 was written in 1767, for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, mixed choir, 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 both doubling English horn in the sections in E-flat major, strings and organ continuo. The first performance is believed to have taken place March 25, 1768 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 with soloists Anna Maria Scheffstoss and Carl Friberth, with Haydn conducting from the harpsichord. Conductor Jonathan Green suggests adding a 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...

 to double the bass line and perhaps just one player to each string part.

Haydn divides the setting into twelve movements:

1. "Stabat Mater dolorosa" Largo, G minor
   G minor
   G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
   
   , common time
   Common Time
   "Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
   
   
2. "O quam tristis et afflicta" Larghetto Affettuoso E-flat major, 3/8
3. "Quis est homo qui non fleret" Lento, C minor
   C minor
   C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
   
   , common time

   —"Quis non posset contristari" Moderato, F major

   F major

   F major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...

   
   , common time

4. "Pro peccatis suae gentis" Allegro ma non troppo, B-flat major, common time
5. "Vidit suum dulcem natum" Lento e mesto, F minor
   F minor
   F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. The harmonic minor raises the E to E. Its key signature has four flats ....
   
   , common time
6. "Eja Mater, fons amoris" Allegretto, D minor
   D minor
   D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
   
   , 3/8
7. "Sancta Mater, istud agas" Larghetto, B-flat major, 2/4
8. "Fac me vere tecum flere" Lagrimoso, G minor, common time
9. "Virgo virginum praeclara" Andante, E-flat major, 3/4
10. "Flammis orci ne succendar" Presto, C minor, common time
11. "Fac me cruce custodiri" Moderato, C major
    C major
    C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
    
    , common time
12. "Quando corpus morietur" Largo assai, G minor, common time

    —"Paradisi gloria" G major

    G major

    G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...

    
    , cut time

Pergolesi's setting of the Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...

 was already popular in Haydn's day despite criticisms of its not being serious enough. In his setting, Haydn aimed to be more serious while taking Pergolesi's setting as a model in some details, such as the "Vidit suum" which emulates "Pergolesi in its melodic traits, rhythmic quirks, and thin texture. Haydn, like Traetta

Tommaso Traetta

Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta was an Italian composer.-Biography:Traetta was born in Bitonto, a town near Bari, near the top of the heel of the boot of Italy. He eventually became a pupil of the composer, singer and teacher Nicola Porpora in Naples, and scored a first success with his...

, even adapted a feature of Pergolesi's text setting, the breaking up with rests of "dum e-mi-sit spiritum" in order to convey the last gasps of the dying Christ."

Indeed "Hasse was greatly impressed with Haydn's Stabat mater, which must have seemed to him an added vindication of the Neapolitan style [of Pergolesi] that he more than anyone else had brought to flower in central Europe." According to Haydn himself, four performances in Paris were very successful.

Haydn's Stabat Mater is considered "suitable for a penitential Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

program."