Haydn's Stabat Mater is one of the composer's more infrequently heard choral works. That may be because, along with The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross, it is one of the composer's most sorrowful choral works. Grave as it is, the Stabat Mater is also beautifully proportioned and richly scored, with lyrical melodies, strong harmonies, and powerful rhythms created with the keen intelligence and emotional sensitivity for which the composer is rightly celebrated. Over the years, there have been few recordings to do the work justice. Most are far too dark and dismal, and this Brilliant reissue of
Frieder Bernius' outstanding account with the
Stuttgart Chamber Choir and the
Württemberg Chamber Orchestra has just the right balance of elements. Much of the work is deeply melancholic, but the performance, while appropriately expressive, is also firmly controlled. There is grief here, but it is grief transformed into art, and thus grief sublimated. An experienced choral conductor,
Bernius manages his forces so that every moment is part of the whole, yet inevitably builds to the final joyous Paradisi gloria. The sound here is somewhat faded, but the performance is well worth hearing.