Stabat Mater (Szymanowski)
Encyclopedia
Karol Szymanowski
's Stabat Mater was composed in 1925-1926 for soprano
, alto
and baritone
soloists, SATB choir
, and orchestra
. The work is divided into six movements
and uses Jozef Janowski's (1865–1935) Polish translation of the Marian hymn, Stabat Mater
.
Szymanowski's first composition on a liturgical text, Stabat Mater was written during his late Nationalist period of 1922-1937, characterized by his use of Polish melodies and rhythms. Following a trip to Zakopane
in 1922, Szymanowski wrote of Polish folk music: "[it] is enlivening by its proximity to Nature, by its force, by its directness of feeling, by its undisturbed racial purity." Szymanowski's pairing of Polish musical elements with a liturgical
text in Stabat Mater is unique, and a clear reflection of his Nationalist convictions as a composer.
." Teresa Chylińska indicates Szymanowski's intentions for the piece: "a type of peasant requiem - something peasant and ecclesiastical, naively devotional, a sort of prayer for souls - a mixture of simple-minded religion, paganism and a certain austere peasant realism." Szymanowski and the Princess lost touch, thus the commission lost momentum. However, later that year thoughts on such a composition were revived when Warsaw
industrialist Bronisław Krystall commissioned Szymanowski for a work in memory of his late wife. In addition, circumstances in the composer's personal life also served as an inspiration for the work. Upon the death of his niece, Alusia Bartoszewiczówna, in January 1925, the composer spent time consoling his sister in her loss, subsequently choosing to set the Stabat Mater text, with its profound reflection on the "grieving mother." External circumstances also served as motivation for the work, including financial need, although there is no evidence of the composer receiving compensation for this work.
Premiered on January 11, 1929 in Warsaw
, conducted by Grzegorz Fitelberg
.
Published by Universal Edition, Austria.
, contralto
, and baritone
soloists; SATB
choir; and orchestra consisting of 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s (2nd doubling cor anglais
), 2 clarinet
s in A, two bassoon
s (2nd doubling contrabassoon
), 4 horns, 2 trumpet
s, timpani
, bass drum
, triangle, suspended cymbal
, tam-tam, tubular bells
, harp
, organ
(ad lib), and strings
consisting of 8 first violin
s, 8 second violins, 6 viola
s, 6 cello
s, and 4 contrabass
es.
text. Although the 13th-century text is inherently dramatic, Janowski's translation is especially raw. Kornel Michałowski indicates the composer's initial attraction to the Polish translation was a result of its "unusually primitive, almost 'folk-like' simplicity and naivety.". While the score includes Latin translations, the score notes that it should always be performed in Polish when performed in Poland.
For a full English translation and commentary on the Polish text and translation, see: Belland, Douglas Keith. An examination of the Persichetti, Poulenc, and Szymanowski Stabat Mater settings with pertinent information on the text. Dissertation: University of Cincinnati, 1992.
periods, as well as a study of old-Polish religious music. Devices used indicating this influence include: parallel movement between voices, modal
pitch organization, and strongly patterned rhythms such as ostinati. Also incorporated into the work are melodic elements of two Polish Hymns: Święty Boże [Holy God] and Gorzkie żale
http://acweb.colum.edu/users/agunkel/homepage/easter/eastgz.html [Bitter Sorrows].."
, which were later incorporated into his compositions. For example, his use of the Podhalean mode
, an ancient Polish folk mode characterized by its raised fourth scale degree (Lydian
), can be seen in Stabat Mater."
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
's Stabat Mater was composed in 1925-1926 for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
and baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
soloists, SATB choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
, and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. The work is divided into six movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
and uses Jozef Janowski's (1865–1935) Polish translation of the Marian hymn, Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
.
Szymanowski's first composition on a liturgical text, Stabat Mater was written during his late Nationalist period of 1922-1937, characterized by his use of Polish melodies and rhythms. Following a trip to Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
in 1922, Szymanowski wrote of Polish folk music: "[it] is enlivening by its proximity to Nature, by its force, by its directness of feeling, by its undisturbed racial purity." Szymanowski's pairing of Polish musical elements with a liturgical
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
text in Stabat Mater is unique, and a clear reflection of his Nationalist convictions as a composer.
Origin and performances
First commissioned in 1924, Princess Edmond de Polignac requested "a piece for soloists, choir, orchestra (perhaps with Polish text) - a kind of Polish requiemRequiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
." Teresa Chylińska indicates Szymanowski's intentions for the piece: "a type of peasant requiem - something peasant and ecclesiastical, naively devotional, a sort of prayer for souls - a mixture of simple-minded religion, paganism and a certain austere peasant realism." Szymanowski and the Princess lost touch, thus the commission lost momentum. However, later that year thoughts on such a composition were revived when Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
industrialist Bronisław Krystall commissioned Szymanowski for a work in memory of his late wife. In addition, circumstances in the composer's personal life also served as an inspiration for the work. Upon the death of his niece, Alusia Bartoszewiczówna, in January 1925, the composer spent time consoling his sister in her loss, subsequently choosing to set the Stabat Mater text, with its profound reflection on the "grieving mother." External circumstances also served as motivation for the work, including financial need, although there is no evidence of the composer receiving compensation for this work.
Premiered on January 11, 1929 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, conducted by Grzegorz Fitelberg
Grzegorz Fitelberg
Grzegorz Fitelberg was a Polish conductor, violinist and composer. He was a member of the Młoda Polska group, together with artists such as Karol Szymanowski, Ludomir Różycki and Mieczysław Karłowicz....
.
Published by Universal Edition, Austria.
Instrumentation
SopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, and baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
soloists; SATB
SATB
In music, SATB is an initialism for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, defining the voices required by a chorus or choir to perform a particular musical work...
choir; and orchestra consisting of 2 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s (2nd doubling cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
), 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in A, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s (2nd doubling contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
), 4 horns, 2 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, triangle, suspended cymbal
Suspended cymbal
right|thumb|Classical suspended cymbalA suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. A common abbreviation used is sus. cym., or sus. cymb. .-History:...
, tam-tam, tubular bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
(ad lib), and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
consisting of 8 first violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, 8 second violins, 6 viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, 6 cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, and 4 contrabass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es.
Movements
- Stała Matka bolejąca (Stabat mater dolorosa, verses 1-4) for soprano, SA choir, and orchestra
- I któż widział tak cierpiącą (Quis est homo qui non fleret, verses 5-8) for baritone, SATB choir, and orchestra
- O Matko Źródło Wszechmiłości (O, Eia, Mater, fons amoris, verses 9-12) for soprano, alto, SA choir, and orchestra
- Spraw niech płaczę z Tobą razem (Fac me tecum pie flere, verses 13-14) for soprano, alto, and SATB choir (a cappella)
- Panno słodka racz mozołem (Virgo virginum praeclara, verses 15-18) for baritone, SATB choir, and orchestra
- Chrystus niech mi będzie grodem (Christe, cum sit hinc exire) for soprano, alto, baritone, SATB choir, and orchestra
Polish Text
Szymanowski chose to set Jozef Janowski's (1865–1935) Polish translation of the Latin Stabat MaterStabat Mater
Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
text. Although the 13th-century text is inherently dramatic, Janowski's translation is especially raw. Kornel Michałowski indicates the composer's initial attraction to the Polish translation was a result of its "unusually primitive, almost 'folk-like' simplicity and naivety.". While the score includes Latin translations, the score notes that it should always be performed in Polish when performed in Poland.
For a full English translation and commentary on the Polish text and translation, see: Belland, Douglas Keith. An examination of the Persichetti, Poulenc, and Szymanowski Stabat Mater settings with pertinent information on the text. Dissertation: University of Cincinnati, 1992.
Study of Early Music
Coinciding with his composition of Stabat Mater, was Szymanowski's study of early music - encompassing "pre-Palestrinian" and PalestrinianGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
periods, as well as a study of old-Polish religious music. Devices used indicating this influence include: parallel movement between voices, modal
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
pitch organization, and strongly patterned rhythms such as ostinati. Also incorporated into the work are melodic elements of two Polish Hymns: Święty Boże [Holy God] and Gorzkie żale
Gorzkie zale
Gorzkie żale Lamentations') is a Catholic devotion, containing many hymns. One part is held on each Sundays in the Lent period, and the entire ceremony is held on Good Friday. The tradition dates to the 18th century in the Warsaw's Holy Cross Church and from there it spread to entire Poland...
http://acweb.colum.edu/users/agunkel/homepage/easter/eastgz.html [Bitter Sorrows].."
Nationalism and folk music
Influenced by composers such as Stravinsky and Bartók, Szymanowski began to incorporated folk music into his composition during his Nationalist period of 1922-1937. In the years preceding the composition of the Stabat Mater, the composer kept a notebook of highlanders' melodies that he encountered in his visits to the Tatra MountainsTatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
, which were later incorporated into his compositions. For example, his use of the Podhalean mode
Musical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
, an ancient Polish folk mode characterized by its raised fourth scale degree (Lydian
Lydian mode
The Lydian musical scale is a rising pattern of pitches comprising three whole tones, a semitone, two more whole tones, and a final semitone. This sequence of pitches roughly describes the fifth of the eight Gregorian modes, known as Mode V or the authentic mode on F, theoretically using B but in...
), can be seen in Stabat Mater."