Stabat Mater, Op. 58

Dvořák began this setting of the medieval Latin poem in 1876 after the death of his infant daughter, then returned to complete it in 1877 after losing two more children in quick succession, the work carries that biographical weight without ever turning morbid. Scored for four soloists, chorus and full orchestra across ten movements, it opens with the strings repeating a single note, F-sharp, before a descending chromatic line passes through the sections, and the first four dark movements gradually give way to music that moves toward solace and, ultimately, a vigorous concluding Amen. It played a decisive role in Dvořák's international reputation after performances in London in the 1880s drew enormous audiences.

What to listen for

The third movement, marked like a funeral march for chorus and orchestra, shifts texture sharply after the intimate quartet writing of the second. Then notice the finale: after a quiet opening with solo voices, the full forces build back to the work's opening material before erupting into a strong, affirmative close, the first and last movements are the only two that share thematic material, giving the whole arc a sense of return.

Recommended rendition

Rafael Kubelik conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with Edith Mathis, Anna Reynolds, Wieslaw Ochman, and John Shirley-Quirk (Deutsche Grammophon), has been frequently cited as a benchmark account of this work.

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