Jenkins Stabat Mater Vocal Score BHP

Stabat mater
vocal/piano score - alto (mezzo-soprano), mixed choir and orchestra.

Karl Jenkins, arguably Britain's most popular living composer, returns with a new work to complement his massively successful "Requiem" and "The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace".

"Stabat Mater" is a thirteenth century Roman Catholic sequence attributed to Jacopone da Todi. Its title is an abbreviation of the first line, "Stabat Mater Dolorosa" (The sorrowful mother was standing). The hymn, one of the most powerful and immediate of medieval poems, meditates on the suffering of Mary, Jesus Christ's mother, during his crucifixion.

Jenkins's setting extends this to a universal depiction of grief by using ancient text from the area (Holy Land/Middle East) that will be sung in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and a contemporary poem, sung in English.

The work is divided into twelve movements and incorporates additional texts including "Ave verum corpus" (originally composed for Bryn Terfel), "Lament" by Carol Barratt, and English texts derived from ancient Babylonian and mediaeval Persian sources. By turns dramatic and reflective, Stabat Mater will be eagerly seized on by Jenkins fans everywhere.

The orchestration includes instruments indigenous to the area, percussion such as the 'darbuka' and 'riq' and the woodwind 'duduk'. The world premiere performance of the Stabat Mater took place in Liverpool on 15th March 2008.

Media: Printed music.
Performance Level: Intermediate.