Stabat Mater

A cross-reading of Vivaldi's work

The Stabat Mater Supplication is part of the cycle of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin, of which it constitutes the fifth moment, when Mary stands at the foot of the cross. This spectacular creation brings together two ensembles with complementary approaches, blending medieval sources and Baroque repertoire. Centered around Vivaldi's Stabat Mater and 13th-century lauds from the Cortona manuscript, the project offers a musical and emotional journey through sorrow, hope, and light.

The sequence (sung poem) of the Stabat Mater is attributed by some to Jacopone da Todi (c. 1220-1306) and by others to Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274). It was also on the occasion of the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, March 18, 1712, in the city of Breschia in Lombardy, that Antonio Vivaldi composed his Stabat Mater; a sublime work that sets to music his intimate reflections on the shock of death and the confrontation we all face with mortality. These reflections are expressed through music that subtly shifts between restraint and expressiveness, and which, in the final verses, gives way to light, forgiveness, and hope in "the glory of paradise."

We have chosen 13th-century lauds from the Cortona manuscript to complement our work. This work, therefore, centers on one of the key pieces of the Baroque repertoire, arranged for tenor voice in our performance. Universality is not something decreed; it is a process of construction. From the vestiges of a tradition passed down to us from the Middle Ages, to which Vivaldi brought a breathtaking dimension in the writing of supplication, we will come together to harmonize our hearts and souls for the benefit of a shared endeavor. From our encounter on stage will emerge an organization where every gesture will be as much musical as it is pictorial.

PROGRAM

Antonio Vivaldi, Stabat Mater RV 621 (adaptation by Le Concert de l'Hostel Dieu and La Camera delle Lacrime); Pietro Antonio Locatelli, Il Pianto d'Arianna (extracts); Laudario di Cortona (extracts); Gregorian sequences and traditional chants

DISTRIBUTION

The Concert of the Hostel Dieu
& La Camera delle Lacrime:
Bruno Bonhoure, tenor; 
Franck-Emmanuel Comte, organ and choral singing; 
Mokrane Adlani, vocals and oud; 
Pierre Hamon, flutes and choral singing; 
Véronique Bouilloux, violin and choral singing 
Florian Verhaegen, violin, vielle, and choral singing; 
Aurélie Métivier, viola and choral singing; 
Clara Fellmann, cello and choral singing; 
Khaï-Dong Luong, research and dramaturgy