Stabat Mater (Jenkins)
Encyclopedia
Stabat Mater is a 2008 piece by Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 composer Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins
-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...

, and is based on the 13th century Roman Catholic prayer 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...

.
Like much of Jenkins' earlier work, the piece incorporates both traditional Western music (orchestra and choir) with ethnic instruments and vocals - this time focusing on the Middle East. The recording features the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, along with two soloists, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...

 Jurgita Adamonyte, and English musician Belinda Sykes, who both sings and performs on the duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...

, an Armenian reed instrument.

Background to the piece

Written in the 13th century, the title Stabat Mater is actually an abbreviation of the first line, Stabat Mater dolorosa ('The sorrowful Mother was standing'). The poem reflects on the suffering of Mary, mother of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, at the time of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...

. Jenkins' setting of the 20-verse poem is actually one of the longest of hundreds of extant settings of the work.

Jenkins' adaptation

Jenkins' work extends across twelve movements, six of which use texts other than the original poem. They include a choral arrangement of the "Ave verum
Ave verum Corpus
Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic hymn that has been set to music by various composers. It dates from the 14th century and has been attributed to Popes Innocent III, Innocent IV and Innocent VI....

" Jenkins originally wrote for Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....

; a movement entitled "And The Mother Did Weep" which comprises a single line sung simultaneously in English, Latin, Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew; "Lament," written by Jenkins' wife Carol Barratt; and
"Incantation," which is partly sung in early Arabic by Belinda Sykes.

Stabat Mater focuses on the suffering of Mary, but unlike earlier adaptations of the text, Jenkins incorporates the language of the period, with lines sung in Aramaic and early Arabic. The addition of Armenian instrument the duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...

 (or mey) heightens the Eastern atmosphere, and its deep double-reeded sound adds a richer, more resonant dimension to the work than can perhaps be achieved using Orchestra alone. Alongside the duduk, Jenkins features percussion from the Middle East, such as the darabuca, def, doholla, and riq
Riq
The riq is a type of tambourine used as a traditional instrument in Arabic music. It is an important instrument in both folk and classical music throughout the Arabic-speaking world...

.

Although it was not mentioned in the CD notes or concert programme, the first movement is actually an extended variation of a piece from his Adiemus
Adiemus
-Concept:Each Adiemus album is a collection of song-length pieces featuring harmonised vocal melody against an orchestral background. There are no lyrics as such: instead the vocalists sing syllables and 'words' invented by Jenkins...

, Cantus-Song of Tears, using the same format (with soft introduction preceding the main melody) and harmonisation.

Première and recording

The piece received its world premier in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...

 on Saturday 15 March 2008 and featured the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, Jurgita Adamonyté, Belinda Sykes, and was conducted by Jenkins himself. The piece was recorded with the same personnel, and was released by EMI on Monday 10 March 2008.

Movements

Jenkins' Stabat Mater is divided into 12 movements. Unlike his Requiem, no movements combine both liturgical and non-liturgical texts.
Movement Texts/Language(s)
1. Cantus lacrimosus (full chorus, chamber chorus) Verses 1-4 of the Stabat Mater
2. Incantation (vocalist) Traditional texts (Arabic)
3. Videt Jesum in tormentis (chamber chorus) Verses 5-10 of the Stabat Mater
4. Lament (mezzo-soprano) A poem by Carol Barratt (English)
5. Sancta Mater (full chorus, chamber chorus) Verses 11-14 of the Stabat Mater
6. Now my life is only weeping (mezzo-soprano, vocalist, chamber chorus) A poem by Rumi (English, Aramaic)
7. And the Mother did weep (chamber chorus) A line by Karl Jenkins (English, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, Greek)
8. Virgo Virginum (chamber chorus) Verse 15 of the Stabat Mater
9. Are you lost out in darkness? (mezzo-soprano, vocalist, chamber chorus) The Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...

 (English, Aramaic)
10. Ave verum (chamber chorus) Ave Verum Corpus
Ave verum Corpus
Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic hymn that has been set to music by various composers. It dates from the 14th century and has been attributed to Popes Innocent III, Innocent IV and Innocent VI....

(Latin)
11. Fac, ut portem Christi mortem (chamber chorus) Verses 16-17 of the Stabat Mater
12. Paradisi Gloria (full chorus, chamber chorus) Verses 18-20 of the Stabat Mater

External links

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