STABAT MATER, AN ARCHETYPE OF SUFFERING IN THE EUROPEAN MUSICAL SPACE

Abstract

The overwhelming suffering of Mary, witnessing the agony of her Son, gave birth, over time, to a cultural archetype called Stabat Mater, present in literature, music, sculpture, painting, even choreography, if we think of contemporary dance performances. Numerous composers were fascinated by the depth and sensitivity of the text, daring to translate the mother's suffering into musical language, among them Palestrina, Alessandro Scarlatti and Domenico Scarlatti, as well as Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Bach, later, Haydn, Boccherini, continuing with Schubert, Rossini, Dvorak, but also Verdi, Poulenc, Stanford.