Music Finland Core

* Title

Additional title

Description

Rita Varonen, conductor of the Cantinovum chamber choir of Jyväskylä, Finland (who had commissioned my El Hambo in 1997), wanted to commission some more music from me. The idea of writing a Stabat Mater was a natural one since the choir had an ongoing project of performing Stabat Mater settings by different composers each Easter.Because the first two lines of each stanza in the Stabat Mater text are in trochaic tetrameter, and because the text is rather repetitive, I came to associate it with the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. Thus, the section that opens and concludes the work is based on traditional runo tunes, albeit slightly distanced and fitted into a 3/4 metre instead of the traditional 5/4. This curious combination represents a thought experiment similar to that involved in the synthesis of the Kalevala and Medieval music in my piece Runo alotteleikse (The poem beginneth): could folk versions of the Latin liturgy have emerged on the basis of runo singing? The answer is, of course, ‘no’, but the idea is intriguing.There are three other, musically rather independent sections in the piece: a 6/8 section for women’s choir with solo violin obligato; a slightly Impressionist section in 4/4, with tetrachord harmonies; and a 5/4 section for male voice choir a cappella, based on a symmetrical scale (1 - 1/2 - 1 -1/2). The latter of these merges into the recapitulation of the opening section, which in turn expands into the coda. The work concludes with a suggestion of Gregorian chant in the final Amen.The string ensemble is slightly more extensive than normal: in addition to the normal two violin parts and double bass part, there are two viola parts and two cello parts. This reflects and for much of the time doubles the six-part texture of the choir; in terms of instrumentation, this work is thus clearly related to Kouta (1996).© Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, 1999Jyväskyläläisen Cantinovum-kamarikuoron johtaja Rita Varonen, joka oli tilannut minulta El Hambon (1997), halusi tilata minulla jotain lisää. Luonteva ajatus oli kirjoittaa kuorolle nimenomaan Stabat Mater, koska kuorolla oli meneillään monivuotinen projekti esittää eri säveltäjien Stabat Mater -teoksia pääsiäiskonserteissaan.Koska Stabat Mater -tekstin runomitassa säkeistön kaksi ensimmäistä riviä ovat nelipolvista trokeeta, ja koska teksti on varsin toisteinen, se assosioitui mielessäni Kalevala-mittaan. Niinpä teoksen avaava ja päättävä taite perustuukin kalevalaiseen melodiikkaan, joskin hieman etäännytettynä ja sijoitettuna kolmijakoiseen tahtilajiin viisijakoisen sijaan. Tämä merkillinen yhdistelmä on samantapainen ajatusleikki kuin Kalevalan tekstin ja keskiaikaisen musiikin synteesini Runo alotteleikse: olisiko latinankielisen liturgisen tekstin toisintoja voinut syntyä kalevalaisen runolaulun pohjalta? Vastaus on tietenkin ‘ei’, mutta ajatus on mielenkiintoinen.Teoksessa on kolme muuta taitetta, jotka ovat musiikillisesti melko itsenäisiä: 6/8-taite naiskuorolle sooloviuluobligaton kera; lievästi impressionistinen tasajakoinen taite, jonka materiaali perustuu nelisointuharmonioille; ja symmetriselle asteikolle (1 - 1/2 - 1 - 1/2) perustuva viisijakoinen taite mieskuorolle a cappella. Viimeksi mainittu limittyy avaustaitteen kertaukseen, joka laajentuu codaksi. Teoksen päättää häivähdys gregorianiikkaa viimeisessä Amen-repliikissä.Jousiorkesterin kokoonpano on hieman totuttua laajempi: mukana on kahden viulustemman ja kontrabassostemman lisäksi kaksi alttoviulustemmaa ja kaksi sellostemmaa. Tämä heijastaa ja suuren osan aikaa tukeekin kuusiäänistä kuorosatsia; soitinnuksen puolesta teos on näin ollen sukua Koudalle (1996).© Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, 1999

Year of composing

Arranger

Movements

Availability

Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin