Malcolm D B Munro
Tuesday 18 October, 2016
Note;
Within the Western tradition of religious musical
composition, the Stabat Mater Dolorosa occupies a particular position.
Despite the fact that the subject is solemn, the mother of Christ
is weeping over the death of her child, there is a lightness and almost
celebratory quality to the majority of compositions. Contrast this with
the solemnity with which almost all Requiems are treated. There is another
side to the Stabat Mater, though. Because the hymn has been set to music by so many
composers through to the present day a certain set of musical parameters
have been established. This restricts the limited in talent and frees the gifted which
is why, despite the hundreds of examples, only a handful stand out.
This piece is not one of them.