Stabat Mater

The medieval verses of the Marian sequence Stabat mater seem like a symbol of mourning that has endured for ages. Once sung in unison and humbly, the Stabat mater has inspired generations of composers, including the Pole Karol Szymanowski in 1926, whose oratorio-like Stabat mater incorporated elements of Polish folk and church music. Geographically and thematically close to each other are Pēteris Vasks' political and personal mourning work of the...