Stabat mater, Op.58 (Klavierauszug)

Description

The sacred cantata for solos, choir and orchestra waswritten as an expression of the painDvorak felt after the death of his daughter Josefa (September 1875). Hereturned to the finalstylisation of the work after fate dealt him another heavy blow when, in thesummer of 1877,two of his other children died in quick succession. Dvorak's musical setting ofthe medievalPassion text by Jacopone da Todi is an integral part of the Easter festivitiesand it is alsoperformed regularly on the concert platform. Arranged in ten independent parts,of which onlythe two outer parts are thematically related, this cantata is an unadorned,sincere, to aconsiderable extent realistic, but also magnanimous reflection of the emotionaljourney fromthe depths of torment and suffering to the joyful solace of compassionateprayer. This,together with its purely musical qualities, renders it one of the mostcompelling and mostsuccessful spiritual works in the world repertoire. This title is part of thefirst CompleteCritical Edition of Works by Antonin Dvorak. The piano reduction was edited byKarel Solcand is based on the critical edition of the score.