STABAT MATER

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Stabat Mater for solo voices, mixed choir and orchestra Op. 58, B71

Jana Sibera soprano

Václava Krejčí Housková alto

Peter Berger tenore

Jozef Benci bass

Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno

choirmaster Petr Fiala

The text of the medieval liturgical sequence Stabat Mater Dolorosa is often attributed to the Franciscan monk Jacopone da Todi; in the form of a simple verse it expresses the suffering of the mother of Jesus Christ, and by extension of all mothers who lose their children. It was used in the liturgy until the second half of the 16th century, after which it was removed from the liturgy. It returned to it in 1727 as part of the proprio for the Feast of the Virgin Mary of the Seven Sorrows and has been regularly set to music by composers ever since. Antonín Dvořák’s Stabat Mater was at the beginning of the composer’s worldwide fame. The work was first performed by Adolf Čech on 23 December 1880 in Prague, followed by a performance in Brno under the baton of Leoš Janáček on Palm Sunday in 1882. The London premiere a year later was so successful that Dvořák was soon invited to conduct the work without previous conducting experience: the memorable performance at the huge Royal Albert Hall on 13 March 1884 in front of an audience of nearly ten thousand.