Stabat Mater (Poulenc)
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Stabat Mater is a musical setting of the Stabat Mater sequence composed by Francis Poulenc's in 1950. Poulenc composed the piece in response to the death of his friend, artist Christian Bérard; he considered writing a Requiem for Bérard, but, after returning to the shrine of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour, he selected the medieval Stabat Mater text.[1] Poulenc's setting, scored for soprano solo, mixed chorus, and orchestra, premiered in 1951 at the Strasbourg Festival. The Stabat Mater was well-received throughout Europe, and in the United States it won the New York Critics’ Circle Award for Best Choral Work of the year.[2]
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[edit] Structure
The Stabat Mater is divided into twelve movements, which vary dramatically in character from somber to light and frivolous, even on the most serious of texts.
- Stabat mater dolorosa (Très calme) Chorus
- Cujus animam gementem (Allegro molto--Très violent) Chorus
- O quam tristis (Très lent) Chorus a cappella
- Quae moerebat (Andantino) Chorus
- Quis est homo (Allegro molto--Prestissimo) Chorus
- Vidit suum (Andante) Soprano, Chorus
- Eja mater (Allegro) Chorus
- Fac ut ardeat (Maestoso) Chorus a cappella
- Sancta mater (Moderato--Allegretto) Chorus
- Fac ut portem (To. de Sarabande) Chorus
- Inflammatus et accensus (Animé et très rythmé) Chorus
- Quando corpus (Très calme) Soprano, Chorus
[edit] Instrumentation
- Piccolo
- 2 Flutes
- 2 Oboes
- English Horn
- 2 Clarinets (Bb)
- Bass Clarinet
- 3 Bassoons
- 4 Horns
- 3 Trumpets (C)
- 3 Trombones
- Tuba
- 2 Harps
- Strings
- Soprano Solo
- SATB Chorus (divisi)
[edit] References
- Hell, Henri. Francis Poulenc. London: John Calder, 1959.
- Benjamin Ivry(1996). Francis Poulenc, 20th-Century Composers series. Phaidon Press Limited. ISBN 0-7148-3503-X.
- Mellers, Wilfrid. Francis Poulenc. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
