Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Stabat Mater Op. 53

The cantata Stabat Mater was completed in early 1926, yet it was first performed as late on January 11th, 1929. The premiere took place in the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall with soloists Stanisława Korwin-Szymanowska (the composer’s sister), Halina Leska and Eugeniusz Mossakowski under Grzegorz Fitelberg in the absence of the composer, convalescing in a sanatorium in Edlach, Austria. Szymanowski listened on the radio and later wrote of being “greatly moved.”
The road towards the accomplishment of this work was unusual: it led from the impulse given by the Countess de Polignac, a well-known patroness of arts, through the composer’s idea of writing a “peasant requiem,” to the commission by Bronisław Krystall, a Warsaw businessman and music-lover, for a requiem for the latter’s deceased wife. The context also included the composer’s own grief: the death of Alusia, his beloved niece. The idea of a mass for the dead evolved towards an image of Mater Dolorosa under the cross. In his belief that Latin lost its emotional expression, Szymanowski used the Polish translation by Józef Jankowski, which preserved the number and the rhythm of the twenty three-line stanzas. Thus creating a Polish counterpart of the Latin model of the genre, he combined the melodics of plainsong with intonations of Polish sacred and folk songs, the universal with the national. Stabat Mater was seen as the fruit of „the noblest of inspirations,” charming in its reserve, in its balance between word and tone. It was interpreted in terms of ideal national music and, at the same time, as a manifesto of the composer’s personal religious feeling.
∙ The tone of sorrow and lament is ushered in by the instrumental introduction to Movement One, beginning with a duet of the flute and the clarinet. The soprano’s At the cross her station keeping…, coloured – with economy – by the choir, is the gateway to the drama. The melody, fluid, at times arabesque, broad-winded, becomes the main means of expression.
∙ Movement Two, Is there one who would not weep, brings an upsetting and tense style. The baritone is supported by the choir, which brings its singing to the level of the dramatic climax.
∙ Movement Three, O thou Mother! fount of love!, is derived from the duet of the clarinet and the alto solo. Their low-voice plea is taken over by the instruments, the women’s choir and the soprano; at the climax of the drama, it becomes a powerful exclamation and then, in a soft arch, reverts to the point of departure in Let me share with thee His pain.
∙ Movement Four is the heart of the work, a prayer, a plea: Let me mingle tears with thee. The a cappella choir, overlaid with solo phrases of the soprano and the alto, connote with the sacred music of the Renaissance, purified and concentrated on all that is crucial in terms of the message. Progressions of ascetic parallel perfect fifths and tritones bring to mind the medieval organum. Tones from the past blend with modern technique, the archaic modal colour acquires a contemporary chromatic glow.
∙ Movement Five brings about a change in character. The brave resolution of Virgin of all virgins best (Allegro moderato) is supported by the orchestra and the choir, which assumes, at times, a “racial” tone as defined by Szymanowski: in the spirit of Polish mountain folklore.
∙ The conclusion of the work – Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence – brings together all means of performance, thus amplifying its symbolism. The final C sharp major chord acts through its bright, almost fluorescent colours over the meaningful words: May my soul Thy goodness praise, safe in Paradise with Thee...

Małgorzata Janicka-Słysz