Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
Stabat Mater

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Stabat Mater

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Stabat Mater, RV 621

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Stabat Mater

Antonio Caldara (1670-1736)
Stabat Mater

Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677-1726)
Stabat Mater en do mineur
Cantate 'Dio e la vergine", pour deux solistes et ensemble

Agostino Steffani (1654-1728)
stabat Mater dolorosa

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Stabat Mater, G 532

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Stabat Mater

Lorenzo Perosi (1872-1956)
Stabat Mater

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Stabat Mater, Hob. XXbis

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Stabat Mater en sol mineur, D 175

Gioacchino Rosini (1792-1868)
Stabat Mater

Johann Simon Mayr (1763-1845)
Stabat Mater n° 3 en do mineur

Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904)
Stabat Mater, op. 58

Franz Lachner (1803-1890)
"Stabat Mater" pour solistes et 2 choeurs, op. 154

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Cantate symphonique "Stabat Mater", op. 96

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Stabat Mater, extrait de "Quatre pièces sacrées"

Karol Szymanski (1882-1937)
Stabat Mater, op. 53

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Stabat Mater, FP 148

Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Stabat Mater

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Stabat Mater dolorosa, extrait de l'oratorio "Christus"

Knut Nystedt (1915-2014)
Stabat Mater, op. 111

Arvo Pärt (1935-)
Stabat Mater

Angharad Gruffydd Jones, soprano
Lawrence Zazzo, contre-ténor
Syste Buwalda, alto
Maria Zadori, soprano
Paul Esswood, ténor
Silvia Piccollo, soprano
Claudia Clarich, alto
Giampiero De Paoli, ténor
Marco Perrella, basse
Giovanni Dagnino, basse
Daniela Aimale, soprano
Elin Manahan Thomas, soprano
Grace Davidson, soprano
Jeremy Budd, ténor
Mark Dobell, ténor
Rob Macdonald, basse
Francesca Boncompagni, soprano
Julia Bishop, violon
Francesca Rotondo, soprano
Galia Tchernova, alto
Aldo Di Toro, ténor
Carlo De Bortoli, basse
Krisztina Laki, soprano
Julia Hamari, alto
Claes-Hakan Ahnsjö, ténor
Richard Anlauf, basse
Patrizia Pace, soprano
Gloria Scalchi, mezzo-soprano
Antonino Siragusa, ténor
Carlo Colombara, basse
Elena Bertocchi, soprano
Sergio Rocchi, ténor
Giovanni Guerini, basse
Christine Brewer, soprano
Marietta simpson, mezzo-soprano
John Aler, ténor
Ding Gao, baryton
Priska Eser-Streit, soprano
Lisa Rothländer, soprano
Iris Julien, alto
Andrea Görgner, alto
Felix Rienth, ténor
Benedikt Göbel, basse
Elizabeth Cragg, soprano
Catherine Hopper, mezzo-soprano
Robert Murray, ténor
David Soar, baryton
Jadwiga Gadulanka, soprano
Krystyna Szostek-Radkowa, alto
Andrzej Hiolski, baryton
Danielle Borst, soprano
Benjamin Hulett, ténor
Alison Hill, soprano
Henriette Bonde-Hansen, soprano
Iris Vermillion, mezzo-soprano
Michael Schade, ténor
Andreas Schmidt, basse
Wendy Roobol, soprano
Hugo Naessens, alto
Falco van Loon, ténor
Joanna Parker, violon
Peter Whiskin, alto
Joanna Levine, violoncelle
Dezsö Karasszon, orgue
Dario Luisi, violon, alto
Fabrizio Cipriani, violon, alto
Diane Moore, violon
Massimo Vivaldi, alto
Donatella Ferraris, violoncelle
Roberto Massetti, violone
Pier Mario Grosso, orgue
Holland Boys Choir
Ensemble Symposium
Chœur du Clare College de Cambridge
Timothy Brown, orgue, direction
Netherlands Bach Collegium
Pieter Jan Leusink, direction
Capella Savaria
Pal Nehmeth, direction
Choeur de la Radio Svizzera Italiana
Diego Fasolis, direction
Aura Musicale Budapest
René Clemencic, direction
Camerata Ligure
Alessandro Stradella Consort
Estevan Velardi, direction
The Sixteen
Harry Christophers, direction
Leipziger Kammerorchester
Immortal Bach Ensemble
Morten Schuldt-Jansen, direction
Choeur et Orchestre dell'Accademia
Michele Frez, direction
Choeur de chambre de Stuttgart
Württemberg Chamber Orchestra
Frieder Bernius, direction
Choeur et Orchestre d'Etat de l'opéra de Hongrie
Pier Giorgio Morandi, direction
Choeur Polyphonique Antiche Armonie
Giovanni Duci, direction
Orchestre de chambre "Incontri Europei con la Musica"
Pieralberto Cattaneo, direction
The Washinton Chorus and Orchestra
Robert Shafer, direction
Choeur Orpheus Munich
Gerd Guglhör, direction
The Bach Choir
Orchestre Symphonique de Bournemouth
David Hill, direction
Choeur Philharmonique d'Etat de Pologne
Jan Wojtacha, direction
Orchestre de la Cité
Michel Piquemal, direction
Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart
Krakauer Kammerchor
Orchestre Symphonique de la radio de Stuttgart
Helmuth Rilling, direction
Exultate Singers
David Ogden, direction
Ensemble Le Nuove Musiche
Krijn Koetsveld, direction

Lamentation sur le sort tragique de Marie, pleurant les souffrances de son fils Jésus Christ pendant la crucifixion, le texte du "Stabat Mater dolorosa" est un hymne à la Vierge attribué au franciscain italien Jacopo Todi (1230-1306). Cette séquence aborde les thèmes universels du chagrin, de la douleur causés par la perte de l’être cher, et a inspiré des œuvres à la beauté déchirante à de nombreux compositeurs. Saluons à nouveau le travail éditorial du label Brilliant Classics qui réunit à travers les quatorze disques qui composent ce coffret la collection la plus complète de "Stabat Mater" jamais recueillie. Des compositeurs de moindre importance de la période baroque au 20ème siècle, ce sont au total vingt-trois "Stabat Mater" que l’auditeur retrouve ou découvre, du plus célèbre d’entre eux composé par Pergolesi au mouvement d’Arvo Pärt. Solistes et ensembles livrent ici des interprétations poignantes et d’une grande justesse. La présence bienvenue du texte original et d’un livret détaillé ajoute encore à notre plaisir et rendent ce coffret incontournable pour l’amateur de musique sacrée.

The Stabat Mater depicts Mary standing at the cross of Jesus, weeping at the sight of her son's crucifixion. The poem asks us to share in Mary's pain ('Fac, ut ardeat cor meum') and rejoice in Christ's sacrifice for mankind. The timeless bond between a mother and her son transcends the shifting world around us. Mary's anguish crosses all boundaries, speaking to anyone who has seen a loved one suffering, humanising Christ for experiencing mortal pain even while lauding him as the saviour. Not only is the theme heartfelt and tender, but the Latin text is rhythmic and lyrical, lending itself perfectly to music. The existing versions represent a wonderful diversity of styles. In Palestrina's time, it was important that the music did not interfere with the clarity of the words. His Stabat Mater for eight voices, therefore, is simple, resonant, and wonderfully moving. Vivaldi, Caldara and both Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti were among the Baroque composers to try their hand next; Vivaldi only set the first ten stanzas, ending with the plea to experience Mary's suffering for ourselves. The music, melancholy and minor, contrasts with Caldara's setting, which includes two trombones. Later composers include Luigi Boccherini, who wrote some florid lines for solo soprano, the only early setting to include a soloist. By the time Haydn came to write his own Stabat Mater in 1767 he would have been familiar with those of Pergolesi and Alessandro Scarlatti. It became Haydn's most performed work in his lifetime, notable for its swapping out of the oboes for two cors anglais in two of the movements, creating a graver and more melancholy sound. Dvorák and Liszt both created highly personal settings of the poem: Liszt because of his strong religious impulse – he wrote the Stabat Mater as part of his oratorio Christus while living in the Vatican, having entered the lower orders – and Dvorák because of a string of personal tragedies. The Czech composer lost his eldest daughter Josefa in 1876, which prompted him to begin sketching the music, and he returned to the composition in 1877 after the deaths of his two surviving children in close succession. A number of turn-of-the-century composers lent their romantic touch to the text. Verdi's version, scored for chorus and large orchestra, was written towards the end of his life, and is fully representative of his mature style. Stanford and Howells, both deeply embedded in the Anglican tradition, brought the Stabat Mater into the renaissance of British music. The Stabat Mater has lost none of its allure in more recent times: perhaps its enduring quality has become even more important since the momentous events of the 20th century. Poulenc composed his setting in 1950, stung by the recent death of his close friend Christian Bérard. Knut Nystedt, the Norwegian composer who died in 2014, composed his stripped down Stabat Mater in 1986, scored for choir and solo cello. Influenced by Gregorian chant and Palestrina, the composer brings us full circle to the earliest settings of this ageless poem. Brilliant Classics has brought together a number of first-class performers for this set, including classic performances and new recordings. Harry Christophers conducts The Sixteen in their performance of Agostino Steffani's Stabat Mater dolorosa, featuring soloists Elin Manahan Thomas and Grace Davidson. Dvorák's Stabat Mater is stylishly performed by The Washington Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Robert Shafer, alongside Christine Brewer and John Aler, in a performance recorded at Washington D.C.'s John F. Kennedy Center. Boccherini's Stabat Mater (released in July 2016 and praised by MusicWeb International as 'an engaging performance, high on polish and long on assurance') is performed by the young Ensemble Symposium, featuring Francesca Boncompagni.