Francis Poulenc: Stabat mater by Poulenc, Debussy, Barber, Strauss, от (2023/2023), диригент Michel Roth

The medieval sequence "Stabat Mater" is an in-depth contemplation of Mary standing at the foot of the cross as she witnesses her son die in agony. A person can hardly experience much greater suffering. Medieval poetry leads us deep into this suffering of the Blessed Mother Mary and doesn't say anything nice; This is also the reason for its “success”: countless times it has been set to music by famous composers. I encounter a lot of suffering around me during these years; Pandemic and its consequences as well as wars certainly contribute to this. This suffering cannot simply be wiped away, either by words or by music. But: "A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved". By looking at it, trying to put it into words, and contemplating it together through experiencing such music together, one can begin to cope with it ´, Francis Poulenc's musical adaptation from 1950 is probably one of the most dramatic settings and captures the pain and the torn heart of the suffering mother in a unique way and with unprecedented vibrancy. The approximately 35-minute work is of enormous content and emotional density. The five-part choir is the main actor, the solo soprano sets its own accents. The concerto is complemented by a number of works from the 20th century that relate to this work and this text in very different ways. Claude Debussy's "Fêtes" from the "Nocturnes" cycle written in 1900 prepares the listener musically for Poulenc. At the same time, I also hear the hustle and bustle of Palm Sunday in this piece as a happy beginning of Jesus' passion, which was then so tragic. Finally Richard Strauss: his “Four Last Songs” based on poems by Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff were written in Switzerland two years before Poulenc's “Stabat mater”. They are an examination of the themes of death and farewell, against the background of the past world war and in anticipation of one's own death. The melody of the last of the four songs - "Im Abendrot" - is reminiscent of the beginning of the "German Requiem" by Johannes Brahms: "Blessed are those who are suffering". Finally Richard Strauss: his “Four Last Songs” based on poems by Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff were written in Switzerland two years before Poulenc's “Stabat mater”. They are an examination of the themes of death and farewell, against the background of the past world war and in anticipation of one's own death. The melody of the last of the four songs - "Im Abendrot" - is reminiscent of the beginning of the "German Requiem" by Johannes Brahms: "Blessed are those who are suffering".