The Stabat mater
is one of the most frequently used
texts in the history of music. Numerous
composers of the renaissance and baroque
eras have set music to this text about
Mary watching her son suffering at the
cross. It has been given various functions
in Roman Catholic liturgy, as a sequence,
a hymn and an antiphon.
Alessandro Scarlatti
composed his setting in 1724. It was
commissioned by the fraternity of the
Cavalieri della Virgine dei Dolori which
honoured the Virgin Mary every year
by the performance of the Stabat mater
during the Lenten season. In 1736 it
commissioned a new setting from Giovanni
Battista Pergolesi. His version was
going to completely overshadow Alessandro
Scarlatti's.
There are a number
of similarities between the two. The
vocal scoring is identical: soprano
and alto. Both composers have set the
text in the form of a cantata, divided
into sections. And both compositions
are written in the same key: c minor.
There are some differences
as well. In Scarlatti's case the voices
are accompanied by two violins and basso
continuo, whereas Pergolesi adds a part
for the viola. Almost all sections in
both settings are written in the form
of an aria, but Scarlatti makes use
of the accompanied recitative twice
('Fac ut portem' and 'Fac me cruce').
Scarlatti has divided
the text into four units, which all
end with a duet: the fourth section
(Quae moerebat), the eighth (Vidit suum),
the twelfth (Tui nati vulnerati) and
the last (Quando corpus). The last section
is divided into two parts, the second
of which is a polyphonic setting of
the word 'Amen'. This last part is only
the second with the tempo indication
'allegro'; the other one is the soprano
aria Virgo virginum.
The challenge for a
composer in setting the Stabat mater
is to avoid monotony. Scarlatti does
so by the variation in tempo: the 18
sections contain 12 different tempo
indications. Some other tools Scarlatti
uses in this setting are displayed right
from the beginning, in the very first
section. It contains many modulations,
and there are quite a number of dissonant
chords. Another feature is the use of
pauses between words, or even syllables,
for instance 'tre-me-bat' (Quae moerebat
et dolebat). The rhetorical device of
the suspiratio (a sighing motif) frequently
appears in this setting as well. Melismas
are used to illustrate words about suffering,
like 'dolentem' (Cujus animam). And
the scourging is also vividly depicted
in the music ('flagellis' in Pro peccatis
suae gentis).
I am sorry to say that
the devices Scarlatti uses to express
the text are never fully exploited here.
Apart from the fact that the voices
of Emma Kirkby and Daniel Taylor are
just too cool for this music and lack
passion and warmth, one of the most
serious shortcomings is the absence
of dynamic contrast. The frequent sighing
motifs could make a far stronger impact
if the singers had applied the messa
di voce, for instance. And the melismatic
passages also suffer from insufficient
variety in dynamics. This is also characteristic
of the way the instrumental parts are
realised.
The addition of a concerto
for recorder (originally written for
transverse flute) is rather odd. There
are enough vocal pieces by Scarlatti
which would have made a far more logical
addition to the programme. And a duration
of just 51 minutes is too short for
a full price disc anyway.
Johan van Veen
Emma Kirkby, soprano; Daniel Taylor, alto;
Francis Colpron, recorder 
for
details
