Maxwill
03-31-2018, 06:37 PM
Anton�n Dvor�k: Stabat Mater, Op.58, B.71
for soli, choir and orchestra
1. "Stabat mater dolorosa" 19:48
2. "Quis est homo, qui non fleret" 10:08
3. "Eia mater, fons amoris" 7:04
4. "Fac ut ardeat cor meum" 9:16
5. "Tui nati vulnerati" 4:51
6. "Fac me vere tecum flere" 5:50
7. "Virgo virginum praeclara" 6:45
8. "Fac ut portem Christi mortem" 5:08
9. "Inflammatus et accensus" 6:02
10. "Quando corpus morietur" 8:05
Total Time: 1:22:57
Soprano: Eri Nakamura
Alto: Elisabeth Kulman
Tenor: Michael Spyres
Bass: Jongmin Park
Conductor: Jiř� Bělohl�vek
Performance: Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic
(P) 2017 Czech Philharmonic
Album Information & Samples (https://www.supraphonline.cz/album/306987-dvorak-stabat-mater-op-58-b-71)
Anton�n Dvor�k's Stabat Mater, Op. 58, truly merits the adjective "tragic"; it was written after the deaths of two of the composer's children in succession, and his grief rolled out in great, Verdian waves.
There are several strong recordings on the market, including an earlier one by conductor Jiř� Bělohl�vek himself, but for the combination of deep feeling, technical mastery from musicians and singers
who have spent their lives getting to know the score, and soloists who not only sound beautiful but are seamlessly integrated into the flow, this Decca release may be the king of them all.
To what extent was the strength of the performance motivated by Bělohl�vek's likely fatal illness (he died days after the album entered the top levels of classical charts in the spring of 2017).
It's hard to say, although he also delivered top-notch performances of Dvor�k's Requiem in his last days. The members of the Prague Philharmonic Choir sing their hearts out in the gigantic,
shattering opening chorus, which has rarely if ever had such a mixture of the impassioned and the perfectly controlled. Sample the chorus "Virgo virginium praeclara" to hear the magically suspended quality
Bělohl�vek brings out of the singers in lightly accompanied passages. The soloists, soprano Eri Nakamura, mezzo Elisabeth Kulman, tenor Michael Spyres, and bass Jongmin Park -- an international group
in this otherwise almost all-Czech production -- are uniformly strong, but what stands out most is how inevitable their entrances sound. If this turns out to be Bělohl�vek's swan song, it is an accomplishment for the ages.
Highest possible recommendation. (AllMusic Review by James Manheim)