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Track(s) taken from GIMBD641

Stabat mater

composer
author of text

The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips (conductor)
This recording is not available for download
Recording details: April 2005
Merton College Chapel, Oxford, United Kingdom
Produced by Steve C Smith & Peter Phillips
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: December 2013
Total duration: 9 minutes 51 seconds

Cover artwork: The Creation of Adam. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Vatican Museum
 

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Reviews

'New release designed to make playing high-resolution surround more accessible to everyone. The Allegri is the standout on this disc in sonic terms, with its main choir set before us, and the soloists separated off in the surrounding acoustic, for a truly atmospheric effect that’s quite captivating' (Gramophone)

'It is 40 years since Peter Phillips founded The Tallis Scholars, and perhaps appropriate that they have chosen to move into the 'new' technology of Blu-ray audio by re-releasing the most celebrated piece of their repertoire, Allegri's Miserere. Dan Morgan's review describes this as a resounding success, and a landmark. Enough said' (MusicWeb International)
The syllabic style not only appealed to the reforming cardinals of the Council of Trent, however. The avant-garde composers of the later sixteenth century were moving fairly unanimously towards a harmonically based, word-orientated idiom in which the craze for madrigals played a central role, thus paving the way for the Baroque. The syllabic movements of the Missa Papae Marcelli were early in this change: later in his life Palestrina took up the method more consistently. His Stabat mater is the supreme example of this. Almost his last datable composition, it was written around 1589/90 in the antiphonal style between two separated choirs which is associated with Venetian music: perhaps Palestrina as an old man was keen to show that he was fully abreast of all the latest developments. Whether it was seen as being Venetian or not, when the Stabat mater was presented to the Papal choir it was instantly recognized as being a masterpiece and, like Allegri’s Miserere, jealously guarded as an exclusive possession, to be performed uniquely by them every Palm Sunday.

from notes by Peter Phillips © 2007

Le style syllabique ne se contenta pas de séduire les cardinaux réformateurs du concile de Trente. Les compositeurs avant-gardistes de la fin du XVIe siècle tendirent, eux aussi, assez unanimement, vers un idiome fondé sur l’harmonie, axé sur les mots, dans lequel l’engouement pour les madrigaux joua un rôle crucial, pavant la voie au baroque. Les mouvements syllabiques de la Missa Papae Marcelli initièrent un peu ce changement: plus tard, Palestrina en reprendra les principes plus régulièrement, comme l’atteste son suprême Stabat mater, presque son ultime composition datable (1589–90). Il s’agit d’une pièce écrite dans le style antiphoné opposant deux chœurs séparés que l’on associe généralement à la musique vénitienne: peut-être Palestrina, alors âgé, eut-il à cœur de montrer qu’il était au fait des tout derniers développements. Qu’il fût ou non considéré comme vénitien, ce Stabat mater fut, dès sa présentation au chœur papal, tenu pour un chef-d’œuvre. Et, comme, le Miserere d’Allegri, il fut jalousement gardé et interprété par les seuls membres du chœur chaque dimanche des Rameaux.

extrait des notes rédigées par Peter Phillips © 2007
Français: Gimell

Der syllabische Stil sprach allerdings nicht nur die reformierenden Kardinäle des Tridentinum an. Auch die Avantgarde-Komponisten des späteren 16. Jahrhunderts gingen nahezu einheitlich in Richtung eines harmonisch basierten, wortorientierten Idioms, in dem die Madrigalbesessenheit eine zentrale Rolle spielte, womit sie den Weg zum Barock ebneten. Die syllabischen Sätze der Missa Papae Marcelli standen am Anfang dieses Wechsels, später sollte Palestrina diese Methode konsistenter anwenden. Sein Stabat mater ist das überragende Beispiel dafür. Es ist nahezu seine letzte datierbare Komposition und wurde 1589/90 im antiphonalen Stil zwischen zwei getrennten Chören geschrieben, der mit venezianischer Musik assoziiert wird: womöglich wollte Palestrina im Alter zeigen, dass er mit den neuesten musikalischen Entwicklungen auf dem laufenden Stand war. Ob man es als venezianisch betrachtete oder nicht, als das Stabat mater dem päpstlichen Chor präsentiert wurde, erkannte er es sofort als Meisterwerk und hütete es wie Allegris Miserere eifersüchtig als exklusiven Besitz, und es wurde jeden Palmsonntag ausschließlich von ihm aufgeführt.

aus dem Begleittext von Peter Phillips © 2007
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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